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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: patient · key · land · court · bowl · pitch · kid · ground

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pitch — completely
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. court — of law
  14. key — the most important part
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — a country
  18. key — for a lock
  19. court — of a king
  20. land — ground
  21. key — in music
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. court — for sport

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