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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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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: court · land · ground · mouse · bark · face · pitch · leaves

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. land — to come down
  4. court — of a king
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. land — ground
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bark — to shout
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. court — of law
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. land — a country
  18. court — for sport
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to confront
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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