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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pitch — completely
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a music group
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. squash — the sport
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — a container
  13. stock — shares
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stem — to come from
  18. squash — to crush
  19. band — a ring
  20. chest — a box
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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