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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: pitch · hide · stem · present · fall · wound · swing · stock

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pitch — completely
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fall — the season
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. present — there
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stock — goods
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — the time now
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. swing — music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stem — to come from
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. swing — to play on
  23. stock — shares
  24. swing — in golf

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