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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 116 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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. firm — decided
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. season — of the year
  5. stock — goods
  6. pitch — completely
  7. stock — shares
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. firm — steady
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. mine — for digging
  14. season — in sport
  15. firm — a company
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bark — to shout
  18. last — final
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. scale — in music

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