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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: pitcher · bank · court · hide · last · cue · pitch · capital

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cue — a hint
  4. court — of law
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cue — a signal
  7. last — final
  8. bank — for money
  9. last — to go on
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bank — for money
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — for sport
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cue — for pool
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitch — completely
  23. last — finally
  24. hide — to keep secret

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