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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: court · key · pitch · race · land · degree · board · toast

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. court — of law
  3. land — to come down
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. race — the arms race
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. land — a country
  10. race — a contest
  11. court — of a king
  12. key — the most important part
  13. degree — temperature
  14. key — in music
  15. degree — an amount
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. court — for sport
  18. board — to get on
  19. key — for a lock
  20. board — a committee
  21. pitch — completely
  22. toast — bread
  23. race — humankind
  24. land — ground

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