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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: spell · net · saw · court · club · board · pitcher · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a committee
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spell — letters
  7. net — in sport
  8. club — a group
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. club — for golf
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. court — of a king
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. spell — magic
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. court — for sport
  17. saw — the tool
  18. net — after costs
  19. march — music
  20. saw — the tool
  21. net — for catching
  22. spell — a short time
  23. court — of law
  24. march — the month

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