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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: race · perch · mark · court · pitch · tube · bound · present

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. race — a contest
  3. mark — a grade
  4. pitch — completely
  5. court — of law
  6. tube — a container
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — obliged
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bound — certain
  11. perch — the fish
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mark — a trace
  14. present — there
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. race — the arms race
  18. present — the time now
  19. court — of a king
  20. present — a gift
  21. race — humankind
  22. court — for sport
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. tube — in a tire

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