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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: court · bat · bay · pitch · nail · net · pop · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. court — of law
  5. net — after costs
  6. pop — music
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. tube — the underground
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bat — the animal
  11. court — of a king
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. net — in sport
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. court — for sport
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. net — for catching
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. pop — soda
  24. tube — a container

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