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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: fork · wind · stock · pitch · press · ground

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. press — to push
  5. ground — a position
  6. pitch — completely
  7. ground — crushed
  8. press — a publisher
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. fork — in a road

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