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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 116 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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. court — of a king
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. net — after costs

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