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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 120 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: rash · rest · hand · pound · row · pitch · stock · present

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pound — a weight
  3. present — there
  4. hand — help
  5. stock — goods
  6. row — a line
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. present — the time now
  14. rest — a break
  15. present — a gift
  16. pitch — completely
  17. rash — hasty
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. rash — a series
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. rest — what's left
  23. stock — shares
  24. hand — in cards

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