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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 · file · cell · season · pitch · rule

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. file — a tool
  5. season — of the year
  6. rule — a law
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rule — government
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stock — shares
  14. file — a document
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — completely
  17. season — in sport
  18. cell — in a prison

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