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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 124 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: mine · court · ground · coach · roll · stand · wind · land

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. land — a country
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. land — ground
  11. court — of a king
  12. ground — a position
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. stand — to bear
  16. wind — moving air
  17. roll — a cake
  18. court — for sport
  19. ground — crushed
  20. land — to come down
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. court — of law
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. stand — on your feet

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