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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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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: pitcher · field · court · drill · arm · kick

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. field — for sport
  3. court — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. court — of a king
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. drill — a practice
  9. field — farmland
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. court — of law
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill

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