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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: mine · court · spell · stock · lie · pitch · pitcher · mate

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mate — a partner
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mine — for digging
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. lie — to recline
  16. mate — a friend
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. court — of law
  23. stock — shares
  24. mate — to breed

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