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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: swing · pitch · prune · mouse · bore · cold · pass · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bore — to tire
  8. swing — to play on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. swing — music
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. pass — a permit
  14. swing — in golf
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. court — for sport
  20. pitch — completely
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bore — to drill
  23. court — of law
  24. mouse — the animal

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