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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: nail · vault · stock · court · pitch · club · cue · mine

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. cue — a hint
  5. court — for sport
  6. vault — a safe
  7. stock — shares
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a signal
  10. court — of a king
  11. stock — goods
  12. club — for golf
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. court — of law
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. club — for dancing
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. club — a group
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pitch — completely
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. mine — belonging to me

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