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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: suit · wake · game · branch · pitch · scale · court · ground

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. ground — a position
  5. game — a match
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pitch — completely
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. suit — in cards
  11. court — of law
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. scale — size or range
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. suit — clothes
  20. ground — the earth
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. suit — to fit
  24. court — of a king

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