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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: wind · mate · club · spring · tear · pitch · stock · court

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. stock — goods
  3. court — for sport
  4. club — for golf
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mate — to breed
  7. court — of law
  8. spring — a coil
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — of water
  11. court — of a king
  12. tear — from crying
  13. club — for dancing
  14. mate — a partner
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitch — completely
  17. mate — a friend
  18. spring — the season
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. club — a group
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. stock — shares
  23. tear — to rip
  24. stock — a soup base

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