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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: last · game · key · mouse · racket · spring · kid · pitch

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. key — in music
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. key — for a lock
  8. spring — the season
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. key — the most important part
  11. kid — child
  12. last — final
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pitch — completely
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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