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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: pitch · bound · cabinet · cold · snap · stock · field · board

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stock — shares
  3. board — to get on
  4. field — a subject
  5. stock — goods
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bound — tied together
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bound — obliged
  15. board — a committee
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. field — farmland
  19. pitch — completely
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bound — certain
  22. cold — an illness
  23. field — for sport
  24. snap — to click

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