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

Word bank: club · chair · kick · pitch · pit · court

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. club — a group
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. chair — a leader
  6. kick — in football
  7. pit — a hole
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. court — for sport
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. club — for golf
  12. pit — in a race
  13. court — of a king
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. pitch — completely
  17. club — for dancing
  18. court — of law

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