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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · track · chest · land · bound · pitch · pound · patient

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. bound — obliged
  6. land — a country
  7. bound — certain
  8. pitch — completely
  9. land — ground
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. court — of a king
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. court — of law
  16. track — a path
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. court — for sport
  20. pound — a weight
  21. land — to come down
  22. chest — of your body
  23. track — a song
  24. pound — for dogs

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