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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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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: bay · land · court · pitch · bowl · firm · chip · degree

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. court — of law
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. land — a country
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. court — for sport
  14. land — ground
  15. firm — decided
  16. pitch — completely
  17. degree — temperature
  18. land — to come down
  19. chip — to eat
  20. court — of a king
  21. firm — a company
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. firm — steady

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