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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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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 · racket · pitch · kid · fine · arm · stem · squash

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — all right
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. squash — to crush
  5. kid — child
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. fine — high quality
  8. court — of law
  9. stem — to come from
  10. court — for sport
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. squash — the sport
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pitch — completely
  20. court — of a king
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. kid — to tease

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