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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · stock · track · cold · object · rest · saw · face

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. object — an aim
  3. stock — shares
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. track — a path
  6. object — to protest
  7. saw — the tool
  8. face — to point toward
  9. track — to keep track
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. pitch — completely
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stock — goods
  17. face — to confront
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. object — a thing
  24. track — a song

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