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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: pitch · shower · club · race · court · drill

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. drill — army training
  5. race — the arms race
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pitch — completely
  9. club — for dancing
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — a group
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. court — of law
  17. shower — to wash
  18. drill — the tool

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