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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: mouse · mark · cell · pound · pitch · game · last · court

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. court — of a king
  3. last — final
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. mark — a grade
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mark — a trace
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. cell — a phone
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cell — in biology
  15. court — of law
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pitch — completely
  18. court — for sport
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. last — finally
  21. pound — a weight
  22. game — a match
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mouse — for a computer

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