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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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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: rest · court · snap · land · face · ground · arm · pitch

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. court — of a king
  3. face — to point toward
  4. ground — the earth
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. ground — crushed
  8. rest — what's left
  9. court — for sport
  10. land — ground
  11. pitch — completely
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. face — part of the head
  14. rest — what's left
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. rest — a break
  17. court — of law
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. snap — to click
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. face — to confront

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