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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.

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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: stick · swing · court · sharp · pitcher · pitch · bat · row

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. swing — music
  6. row — to paddle
  7. court — of law
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. court — for sport
  20. sharp — clever
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. row — a line
  23. bat — the animal
  24. swing — to play on

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