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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rule — a law
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. row — a line
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. stock — goods
  9. spring — of water
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bank — for money
  13. rule — government
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bank — for money
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. kid — to tease
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pitch — completely
  24. kid — child

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