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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: pitch · mine · squash · stock · kid · ruler · wind · pitcher

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. squash — the sport
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wind — moving air
  7. squash — to crush
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stock — shares
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. kid — to tease
  15. stock — goods
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. pitch — completely
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. kid — child
  24. pitch — a sports field

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