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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 120 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 · wound · pitch · pound · cell · stock · rock · rule

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. rock — a stone
  7. stock — shares
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pound — a weight
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stock — goods
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. pitch — completely
  15. rule — government
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. cell — a phone
  18. rule — a law
  19. rock — music
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cell — in biology
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — of the year

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