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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.

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: can · court · race · ground · pitcher · leaves · swing · cell

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. can — to be able to
  5. ground — crushed
  6. court — for sport
  7. swing — to play on
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. swing — in golf
  11. court — of a king
  12. can — a tin
  13. swing — music
  14. race — the arms race
  15. ground — the earth
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. race — humankind
  18. court — of law
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. race — a contest
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. can — a tin
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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