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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 116 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: court · pound · rest · band · pitch · pitcher · straw · lash

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pound — a weight
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. band — a music group
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. rest — what's left
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pitch — completely
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. court — of a king
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. band — a ring
  19. court — for sport
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rest — what's left
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. rest — a break
  24. court — of law

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