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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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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: plane · racket · pitch · hide · land · court · bear · wound

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. court — of a king
  3. bear — the animal
  4. court — of law
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. land — ground
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. court — for sport
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. land — to come down
  13. bear — the animal
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. land — a country
  16. pitch — completely
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. wound — an injury
  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