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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 · pit · pitcher · court · stock · chest · tear · mate

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pit — in a race
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stock — goods
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mate — to breed
  12. season — in sport
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. season — of the year
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. court — of law
  23. mate — a partner
  24. pit — a hole

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