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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: net · last · pitch · patient · squash · stock · bass · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. net — in sport
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. squash — the sport
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. march — the month
  9. last — to go on
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bass — low music
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. pitch — completely
  17. net — for catching
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bass — the fish
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. march — music
  23. net — after costs
  24. stock — a soup base

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