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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 116 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: race · stock · lash · pitch · face · net

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. race — the arms race
  3. net — in sport
  4. race — humankind
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. stock — shares
  7. pitch — completely
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. face — to confront
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. race — a contest
  15. stock — goods
  16. face — part of the head
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. face — to point toward

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