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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: stand · date · bass · fork · land · court · plane · cell

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. court — for sport
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. court — of law
  9. land — to come down
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. date — the fruit
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. bass — the fish
  14. stand — to bear
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cell — a phone
  17. court — of a king
  18. plane — a tool
  19. cell — in biology
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bass — low music
  23. fork — in a road
  24. land — ground

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