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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: land · stand · foot · degree · pitch · kid · court · bowl

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. degree — temperature
  3. court — of law
  4. degree — an amount
  5. kid — to tease
  6. court — for sport
  7. stand — to bear
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. court — of a king
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. pitch — completely
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. kid — child
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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