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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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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. rule — to rule out
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ground — a position
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ball — a great time
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. stock — goods
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rule — a law
  14. scale — size or range
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. rule — government
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. ground — the earth
  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