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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: straw · court · net · lash · pitch · bulb · track · bound

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bound — tied together
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bulb — for light
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. net — for catching
  8. track — a path
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bound — certain
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bound — obliged
  13. court — for sport
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bulb — for light
  19. track — a song
  20. court — of law
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. court — of a king
  23. net — in sport
  24. track — to keep track

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