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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 · net · bark · chip · ground · pitch · staff · last

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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. bark — to shout
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. last — finally
  4. staff — employees
  5. chip — for betting
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. chip — to eat
  9. stock — goods
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. stock — shares
  13. net — in sport
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. ground — the earth
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. net — for catching
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. net — after costs
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  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