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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: land · band · bass · calf · court · plane · bark · pitch

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. band — a music group
  5. bass — low music
  6. pitch — completely
  7. court — of a king
  8. land — ground
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. land — a country
  13. bass — the fish
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. land — to come down
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bark — to shout
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. court — of law
  24. court — for sport

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