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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: object · pitch · net · date · rest · wax · stock · field

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. stock — goods
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. net — after costs
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. rest — what's left
  8. net — in sport
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. rest — what's left
  15. field — farmland
  16. net — for catching
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. wax — to grow
  19. field — a subject
  20. date — the fruit
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rest — a break
  24. field — for sport

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