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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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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: stock · plane · court · bay · degree · firm · rest · pitch

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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. firm — a company
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rest — a break
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stock — shares
  10. court — of a king
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. firm — decided
  15. pitch — completely
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. degree — temperature
  18. plane — a tool
  19. court — of law
  20. stock — goods
  21. firm — steady
  22. rest — what's left
  23. court — for sport
  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