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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: court · wind · suit · chip · rash · kid · scale · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. suit — to fit
  4. rash — hasty
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. court — for sport
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — completely
  10. rash — a series
  11. suit — in cards
  12. suit — clothes
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. scale — in music
  17. chip — to eat
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chip — for betting
  21. scale — size or range
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kid — child

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