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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: straw · rock · stand · court · game · pitch · wake · sharp

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. court — for sport
  22. game — a match
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. rock — music

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