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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 116 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: saw · wound · pitch · present · court · ground · hand · ball

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. court — of a king
  4. saw — the tool
  5. present — the time now
  6. hand — help
  7. wound — an injury
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. ground — crushed
  12. present — there
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ball — a dance
  16. court — of law
  17. hand — in cards
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. present — a gift
  20. saw — the tool
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. pitch — completely
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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