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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: court · kid · ruler · tear · pitch · wind · bulb · stand

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bulb — for light
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. court — of a king
  20. tear — from crying
  21. kid — child
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — to bear

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