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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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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: jam · race · court · cold · bank · pit · drill · pitch

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bank — of a river
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. drill — army training
  5. race — the arms race
  6. court — of law
  7. race — humankind
  8. pit — in a race
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. court — for sport
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pit — a hole
  14. bank — for money
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. cold — an illness
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bank — for money
  20. pitch — completely
  21. court — of a king
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. race — a contest
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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