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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 · tear · firm · stand · pitch · rule · hand · wound

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. stand — to bear
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. firm — steady
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pitch — completely
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. hand — in cards
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stock — goods
  19. firm — a company
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. hand — help
  24. wound — an injury

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