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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: wave · stock · cap · pitch · chest · dip · trunk · spring

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. spring — a coil
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. spring — the season
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. dip — to sink
  13. cap — a hat
  14. chest — a box
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stock — goods
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. chest — of your body
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. cap — a lid
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. spring — of water

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