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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 · mate · chair · bat · date · cap · swing · pitch

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. swing — music
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cap — a hat
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. court — of a king
  10. pitch — completely
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. court — for sport
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cap — of ice
  18. swing — to play on
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. court — of law
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cap — a lid
  23. mate — a friend
  24. date — on the calendar

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