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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: hand · bulb · pitch · lash · field · cell · stock · stick

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pitch — completely
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bulb — for light
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bulb — for light
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. field — for sport
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. hand — in cards
  20. field — a subject
  21. cell — in biology
  22. stock — goods
  23. field — farmland
  24. lash — to lash out

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