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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 116 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: court · track · wound · pitch · rush · shower · bat · racket

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. court — of law
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pitch — completely
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. court — of a king
  13. rush — hurry
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wound — an injury
  20. track — a path
  21. shower — rain
  22. bat — the animal
  23. track — a song
  24. court — for sport

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