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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: chest · pitch · mark · band · net · mug · court · rush

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. mark — a grade
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. rush — hurry
  8. mark — a trace
  9. pitch — completely
  10. band — a ring
  11. net — in sport
  12. chest — a box
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. court — of law
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mug — a face
  17. mug — to rob
  18. chest — of your body
  19. net — for catching
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. chest — of your body
  22. net — after costs
  23. mug — a cup
  24. rush — a thrill

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