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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: season · ground · stock · wake · pitch · date · content · ball

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. date — the fruit
  5. ground — crushed
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ground — a position
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. content — happy
  14. season — of the year
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. stock — shares
  18. ground — the earth
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. ball — a dance
  21. content — the amount
  22. ball — a great time
  23. wake — a trail
  24. stock — goods

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