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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: key · court · board · pitch · snap · mine · mug · cold

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. court — for sport
  7. key — in music
  8. court — of a king
  9. key — for a lock
  10. board — a committee
  11. snap — to click
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mine — for digging
  19. court — of law
  20. mug — a face
  21. key — the most important part
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. pitch — completely

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