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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: pitcher · clip · bound · stock · season · fork · pitch · file

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bound — obliged
  5. stock — shares
  6. pitch — completely
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bound — certain
  9. season — of the year
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. file — a document
  12. fork — in a road
  13. file — a tool
  14. season — in sport
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. stock — goods
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. bound — tied together

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