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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 · swing · fan · pitch · roll · land · march · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. march — music
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. march — the month
  11. swing — to play on
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. court — of law
  14. land — to come down
  15. court — of a king
  16. bark — to shout
  17. march — the month
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. roll — a list
  21. roll — a cake
  22. court — for sport
  23. land — a country
  24. land — ground

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