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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: last · lean · pitch · land · bass · court · ruler · march

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. court — for sport
  4. bass — the fish
  5. march — the month
  6. land — ground
  7. bass — low music
  8. court — of a king
  9. land — a country
  10. court — of law
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. lean — thin
  15. march — music
  16. lean — to bend
  17. land — to come down
  18. pitch — completely
  19. march — the month
  20. last — final
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. bass — the instrument

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