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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 116 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: hand · season · file · pitch · mate · court · firm · cell

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. firm — decided
  3. court — of law
  4. mate — a friend
  5. file — a tool
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. file — a document
  9. pitch — completely
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. season — in sport
  12. hand — help
  13. cell — a phone
  14. season — of the year
  15. firm — a company
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. firm — steady
  21. court — of a king
  22. hand — in cards
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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