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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 116 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: track · court · march · game · squash · prune · pit · pitcher

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. court — for sport
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — wild animals
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. track — to keep track
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — in a race
  11. prune — to trim
  12. track — a song
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. game — a match
  15. court — of law
  16. track — a path
  17. march — music
  18. pit — a hole
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. squash — the sport
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. court — of a king
  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