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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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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: march · leaves · land · stock · pitch · roll

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. march — the month
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. land — a country
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. roll — a cake
  8. march — the month
  9. roll — a list
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. pitch — completely
  13. stock — goods
  14. land — ground
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. march — music
  17. stock — shares
  18. leaves — to go away

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