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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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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: pound · bank · race · pitch · wound · perch · cell · stock

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bank — for money
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. race — a contest
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bank — of a river
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. perch — the fish
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pound — a weight
  17. cell — a phone
  18. stock — shares
  19. bank — for money
  20. race — humankind
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cell — in biology

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