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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: rush · hand · pitcher · content · game · pop · court · club

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rush — hurry
  3. content — happy
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. game — a match
  6. club — a group
  7. pop — soda
  8. club — for dancing
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. court — of a king
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. club — for golf
  15. court — for sport
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. court — of law
  19. pop — music
  20. game — wild animals
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. hand — help
  23. content — the amount
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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