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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. hand — in cards
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. pitch — completely
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. mine — for digging
  16. suit — in cards
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. suit — clothes
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. hand — help
  23. suit — to fit
  24. mine — an explosive

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