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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: clip · court · pound · lie · game · pitch · pitcher · fall

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fall — the season
  4. game — a match
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. court — of a king
  12. fall — to drop
  13. lie — to recline
  14. court — of law
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pitch — completely
  18. court — for sport
  19. clip — a video
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pound — a weight
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fall — to drop
  24. lie — an untruth

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