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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 · leaves · kick · band · sharp · nail · stock · scale

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. band — a music group
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. scale — in music
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. kick — in football
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — completely
  12. stock — goods
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. sharp — clever
  19. stock — shares
  20. scale — size or range
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. nail — on a finger

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