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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 116 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: field · lie · march · stock · content · board · pitch · deal

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. stock — shares
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. lie — to recline
  6. deal — to handle
  7. field — for sport
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. field — a subject
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. board — a committee
  17. field — farmland
  18. march — the month
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. board — to get on
  23. stock — goods
  24. march — the month

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