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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: stick · present · bore · last · net · pitch · court · mine

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. net — for catching
  3. last — final
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. last — to go on
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bore — to tire
  9. mine — for digging
  10. net — after costs
  11. pitch — completely
  12. court — of law
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. last — finally
  18. present — a gift
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. present — the time now
  21. net — in sport
  22. present — there
  23. court — for sport
  24. bore — to drill

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