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

Word bank: fork · stock · pitch · stick · rule · band

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. band — a ring
  5. stock — goods
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pitch — completely
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. rule — government
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. rule — a law
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. stick — a piece of wood

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