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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · pitch · rash · present · march · jam · chip · plane

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. pitch — completely
  3. court — for sport
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. rash — hasty
  6. chip — to eat
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. present — there
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. rash — a series
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. court — of a king
  17. plane — a tool
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — a gift
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. chip — for betting
  24. court — of law

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