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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · stock · pitch · bowl · march · band

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. march — music
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. band — a ring
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. stock — goods
  15. band — a music group
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bowl — to roll

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