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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: trunk · stock · pitch · mine · lean · hide · pop · season

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  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. lean — to bend
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. season — of the year
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pop — music
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. pop — to visit
  11. season — in sport
  12. lean — thin
  13. pop — soda
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stock — shares
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. stock — goods
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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