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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: object · court · kick · bowl · clip · pitch

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pitch — completely
  3. clip — a video
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. object — an aim
  6. court — of a king
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. object — a thing
  12. kick — in football
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. object — to protest
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut

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