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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. band — a music group
  3. suit — to fit
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bat — the animal
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. suit — in cards
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pit — a hole
  12. court — of a king
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pit — in a race
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. suit — clothes
  20. court — of law
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. band — a ring
  24. pitch — completely

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