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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: season · fall · stock · court · branch · firm · clip · pitch

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pitch — completely
  3. firm — steady
  4. court — for sport
  5. fall — to drop
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. firm — a company
  11. court — of a king
  12. clip — a video
  13. season — in sport
  14. court — of law
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. fall — the season
  19. stock — shares
  20. season — of the year
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. firm — decided
  23. branch — a division
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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