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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
468
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 · mate · plane · land · suit · drill · pitch · kick

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. suit — in cards
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. plane — a tool
  5. drill — army training
  6. suit — to fit
  7. court — for sport
  8. pitch — completely
  9. land — to come down
  10. mate — a partner
  11. drill — the tool
  12. court — of a king
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. mate — a friend
  15. kick — in football
  16. court — of law
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. mate — to breed
  20. suit — clothes
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. drill — a practice
  24. land — a country

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