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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: mate · cell · club · court · pitch · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mate — a partner
  9. club — for golf
  10. club — for dancing
  11. court — of a king
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. pitch — completely
  14. mate — a friend
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. club — a group
  18. cell — a phone

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