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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: pit · stand · club · ground · court · calf · mine · spell

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. spell — letters
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pit — a hole
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. court — of law
  9. club — a group
  10. ground — a position
  11. stand — to bear
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. club — for dancing
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. spell — magic
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. ground — crushed
  19. court — for sport
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. pit — in a race
  22. court — of a king
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. spell — a short time

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