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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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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. firm — steady
  6. court — of a king
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cell — a phone
  9. rash — hasty
  10. court — of law
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. firm — a company
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pitch — completely
  19. rash — a series
  20. firm — decided
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. court — for sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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