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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · stock · pitcher · ball · pit · march · present · tear

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. present — a gift
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pit — in a race
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. march — music
  12. ball — a great time
  13. march — the month
  14. ball — a dance
  15. present — there
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. present — the time now
  21. march — the month
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. bat — the animal

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