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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: race · ball · mine · court · cell · branch · pitch · sharp

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. cell — in biology
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. sharp — clever
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. court — of law
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. race — a contest
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. race — humankind
  16. branch — a division
  17. ball — a great time
  18. race — the arms race
  19. court — for sport
  20. cell — a phone
  21. court — of a king
  22. ball — a dance
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. sharp — with an edge

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