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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 120 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: row · straw · pitch · temple · court · race · bat · mark

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. court — of a king
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — a contest
  9. court — of law
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mark — a trace
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. court — for sport
  17. race — humankind
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. temple — side of the head

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