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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: pitch · court · racket · kid · wave · content · wound · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. court — for sport
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. season — in sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pitch — completely
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. court — of a king
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. court — of law
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. season — of the year
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. wound — an injury

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