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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: perch · swing · court · degree · charge · cue · file · pitch

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. swing — to play on
  3. court — of law
  4. charge — a price
  5. degree — from a university
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. degree — temperature
  8. court — of a king
  9. file — a document
  10. court — for sport
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — a hint
  14. file — a tool
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. perch — the fish
  17. cue — for pool
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. swing — in golf
  20. charge — electricity
  21. pitch — completely
  22. swing — music
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. charge — in control

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