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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 116 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: stock · rush · pitch · lean · wind · rash · clip · ball

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pitch — completely
  3. stock — shares
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lean — thin
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — hurry
  12. clip — a video
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. lean — to bend
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. stock — goods
  23. rash — hasty
  24. ball — a great time

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