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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. kid — to tease
  4. court — for sport
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. court — of law
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — a group
  14. board — to get on
  15. pitch — completely
  16. court — of a king
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. board — a committee

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