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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: charge · season · pitch · staff · stock · straw · hand · field

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. stock — goods
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. season — of the year
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. staff — employees
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. hand — help
  10. charge — in control
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pitch — completely
  13. staff — employees
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. field — farmland
  16. hand — in cards
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — in sport
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. charge — a price
  21. staff — a stick
  22. charge — electricity
  23. stock — shares
  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