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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: bat · chest · spell · trunk · pitch · ruler · cap · stock

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. spell — letters
  3. pitch — completely
  4. spell — a short time
  5. stock — shares
  6. spell — magic
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. chest — of your body
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. stock — goods
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cap — of ice
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. chest — a box
  21. cap — a lid
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. trunk — of a car

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