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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: spring · pitcher · pitch · saw · ruler · squash · court · rash

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. rash — a series
  7. squash — to crush
  8. rash — hasty
  9. spring — of water
  10. court — of law
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. court — of a king
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spring — the season
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. squash — the sport
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. court — for sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. pitch — completely

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