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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: perch · court · band · pitcher · deal · pitch · sharp · hand

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. court — of law
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. perch — the fish
  8. band — a music group
  9. court — for sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. pitch — completely
  12. court — of a king
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. hand — help
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. deal — to handle
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. hand — in cards
  24. pitcher — a jug

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