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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: track · rush · toast · court · pitcher · chest · cold · pitch

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. rush — hurry
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. toast — bread
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. track — to keep track
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. court — of law
  24. track — a path

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