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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: pitcher · cap · game · rest · spring · pitch · kid · racket

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. cap — a hat
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. cap — a lid
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pitch — completely
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cap — of ice
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spring — the season
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. game — a match
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. game — wild animals

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