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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: land · court · cue · fine · pass · season · wax · pitch

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. land — ground
  3. cue — a signal
  4. court — for sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. land — to come down
  7. cue — for pool
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. fine — all right
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. land — a country
  14. court — of law
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. wax — to grow
  18. cue — a hint
  19. season — of the year
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. season — in sport
  22. pitch — completely
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. court — of a king

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