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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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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: fork · stock · pitch · stick · rule · band · ground · court

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. stock — goods
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. ground — a position
  12. stock — shares
  13. pitch — completely
  14. band — a music group
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. rule — a law
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. rule — government

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