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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: land · club · jam · wave · coach · squash · ground · court

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. land — a country
  3. ground — crushed
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. club — a group
  6. court — for sport
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. land — to come down
  13. court — of law
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. squash — the sport
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. court — of a king
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. club — for dancing
  22. land — ground
  23. ground — the earth
  24. club — for golf

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