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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: pitch · wind · mug · spring · march · last · tube · court

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. march — music
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. court — of a king
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. court — for sport
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. court — of law
  12. last — to go on
  13. pitch — completely
  14. tube — the underground
  15. march — the month
  16. spring — of water
  17. last — final
  18. mug — to rob
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mug — a face
  21. wind — moving air
  22. march — the month
  23. tube — a container
  24. mug — a cup

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