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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 · pitch · current · land · stock · bark · bank · rash

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bank — for money
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. land — a country
  6. current — of water
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bank — for money
  9. rash — hasty
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. stock — goods
  13. rash — a series
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. current — electric
  20. bank — of a river
  21. current — happening now
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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