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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 120 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: mark · pitch · court · wound · temple · racket · clip · bound

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. clip — a video
  3. mark — a trace
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. court — of law
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — tied together
  11. wound — an injury
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. court — of a king
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bound — certain
  19. pitch — completely
  20. court — for sport
  21. mark — a grade
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. wound — an injury
  24. temple — a place of worship

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