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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: firm · fan · pitcher · net · court · clip · club · bound

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. court — for sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. court — of law
  7. club — for golf
  8. bound — obliged
  9. court — of a king
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. firm — a company
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. firm — decided
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. club — a group
  17. firm — steady
  18. bound — tied together
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. net — in sport
  21. club — for dancing
  22. bound — certain
  23. clip — for paper
  24. net — for catching

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