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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: bank · wound · pitch · hand · court · land · perch · bore

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — in cards
  4. land — to come down
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bore — to drill
  7. land — a country
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — of a river
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. court — for sport
  17. pitch — completely
  18. land — ground
  19. court — of a king
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bank — for money
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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