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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: bore · pit · rush · pitch · court · dip · jam · board

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. court — of a king
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. board — to get on
  6. bore — to tire
  7. court — for sport
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pitch — completely
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. bore — to drill
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. court — of law
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. board — a committee
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — to sink
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pitch — a sports field

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