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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: court · land · kick · calf · board · field · chip · date

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. board — to get on
  4. land — a country
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. court — of a king
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. court — of law
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. court — for sport
  13. board — a committee
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. land — to come down
  18. date — the fruit
  19. field — a subject
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. land — ground
  22. chip — for betting
  23. field — for sport
  24. calf — a young animal

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