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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 120 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: scale · rest · court · land · cell · mine · bank · pitch

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. scale — size or range
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bank — for money
  5. court — of a king
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cell — a phone
  8. scale — in music
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. land — a country
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bank — of a river
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cell — in biology
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. land — ground
  22. pitch — completely
  23. rest — a break
  24. bank — for money

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