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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: land · nail · ground · stock · degree · rule · pitch · track

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. land — to come down
  7. ground — the earth
  8. track — a path
  9. degree — an amount
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. track — a song
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. degree — from a university
  16. land — ground
  17. track — to keep track
  18. ground — a position
  19. degree — temperature
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. rule — a law
  22. stock — shares
  23. land — a country
  24. pitch — completely

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