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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 120 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: cue · mate · stock · hand · bowl · pitch · field · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. stock — shares
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. field — a subject
  8. mate — a friend
  9. field — farmland
  10. hand — in cards
  11. field — for sport
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. cue — a signal
  15. pitch — completely
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. stock — goods
  18. squash — to crush
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cue — for pool
  23. mate — a partner
  24. pitch — a sports field

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