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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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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: tube · fall · ball · straw · stick · net · court · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. tube — a container
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. net — in sport
  6. court — of law
  7. net — for catching
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. net — after costs
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. fall — to drop
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. ball — a great time
  14. court — for sport
  15. fall — to drop
  16. court — of a king
  17. tube — the underground
  18. pitch — completely
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. fall — the season
  21. ball — a dance
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pitch — a sports field

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