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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: fall · court · pitcher · racket · lash · spell · roll · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. court — of law
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. spell — magic
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. fall — to drop
  8. last — to go on
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. fall — the season
  12. roll — a list
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. roll — a cake
  16. spell — letters
  17. court — of a king
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. fall — to drop
  21. court — for sport
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. last — final

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