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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: stock · march · court · fork · pitch · rule · bat · bound

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bound — certain
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — a law
  9. bat — the animal
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bound — obliged
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. bound — tied together
  16. march — music
  17. stock — shares
  18. court — for sport
  19. stock — goods
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. bat — in an idiom

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