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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: scale · kid · court · pitch · last · racket · pitcher · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. court — for sport
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. court — of a king
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. kid — child
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. last — to go on
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. kid — to tease
  16. pitch — completely
  17. scale — in music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. court — of law
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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