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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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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: cue · firm · straw · fall · court · pit · pitcher · race

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pit — a hole
  3. court — of a king
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cue — a hint
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cue — for pool
  9. firm — decided
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cue — a signal
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. race — humankind
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. court — for sport
  18. firm — steady
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. firm — a company
  21. race — the arms race
  22. court — of law
  23. race — a contest
  24. pit — in a race

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