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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: pitch · club · wave · kid · foot · court · racket · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. kid — child
  7. court — for sport
  8. foot — a measure
  9. court — of law
  10. clip — a video
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. kid — to tease
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. court — of a king
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. club — for golf
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. club — for dancing
  22. pitch — completely
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. club — a group

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