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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 120 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: pound · court · swing · season · fine · rush · pitch · wind

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. fine — all right
  4. rush — hurry
  5. court — for sport
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. season — of the year
  8. wind — moving air
  9. swing — in golf
  10. pound — a weight
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fine — high quality
  20. swing — music
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. season — in sport
  24. pound — to hit hard

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