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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · court · can · scale · lean · cue · land · pitch

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. scale — size or range
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. court — of a king
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. scale — in music
  9. cue — a signal
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. land — ground
  12. field — for sport
  13. cue — a hint
  14. land — to come down
  15. court — of law
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. cue — for pool
  18. lean — to bend
  19. can — a tin
  20. court — for sport
  21. can — a tin
  22. pitch — completely
  23. land — a country
  24. can — to be able to

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com