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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: ground · stock · stick · content · pitch · lie · clip · toast

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. toast — bread
  3. content — happy
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. ground — the earth
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. clip — a video
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. lie — to recline
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stock — goods
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stock — shares
  21. content — the amount
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. content — videos and posts

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