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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: sharp · pitch · file · fork · rush · chest · march · stock

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  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. file — a document
  2. chest — of your body
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. file — a tool
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. stock — goods
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. rush — hurry
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. march — the month
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. fork — in a road
  18. chest — a box
  19. sharp — clever
  20. pitch — completely
  21. stock — shares
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. stock — a soup base
  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