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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: mine · stock · ground · bowl · jam · bat · tear · pitch

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pitch — completely
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ground — the earth
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. ground — a position
  17. stock — goods
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stock — shares
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. stock — a soup base

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