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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: race · fall · cue · pitch · court · pitcher · lean · ball

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. fall — to drop
  3. court — of law
  4. lean — to bend
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. fall — the season
  9. cue — for pool
  10. ball — a dance
  11. race — humankind
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. court — of a king
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ball — a great time
  18. race — a contest
  19. lean — thin
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cue — a signal
  22. race — the arms race
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. cue — a hint

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