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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: season · rush · pitcher · pit · court · roll · track · cell

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cell — in biology
  3. court — of law
  4. rush — hurry
  5. track — a song
  6. roll — a cake
  7. court — of a king
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. roll — a list
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. track — a path
  14. season — of the year
  15. pit — a hole
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. court — for sport
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. pit — in a race
  23. season — in sport
  24. track — to keep track

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