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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: stock · march · court · fork · pitch · rule

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. 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. court — of law
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — completely
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. fork — in a road
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. march — music
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. 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