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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: stock · mine · snap · pitch · lash · stand · board · clip

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. stock — shares
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. snap — to click
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. board — to get on
  10. stand — to bear
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. clip — for paper
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. clip — a video
  18. stock — goods
  19. board — a committee
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. mine — for digging
  22. clip — to cut
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. pitch — completely

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