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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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Word bank
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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: kid · spell · rule · court · pitch · present

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. 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. kid — to tease
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rule — government
  6. spell — letters
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. rule — a law
  11. spell — magic
  12. present — there
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. court — of a king
  17. kid — child
  18. 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