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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · bat · scale · vault · racket · court · field · pitch

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. pitch — completely
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bat — the animal
  8. scale — size or range
  9. field — a subject
  10. scale — in music
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. court — of a king
  14. vault — a safe
  15. field — for sport
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. field — farmland
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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