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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: swing · stock · land · current · pitch · prune · pit · foot

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. prune — to trim
  4. current — electric
  5. land — ground
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. stock — goods
  8. pit — a hole
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. swing — in golf
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. land — to come down
  15. current — of water
  16. stock — shares
  17. prune — to trim
  18. swing — to play on
  19. pit — in a race
  20. current — happening now
  21. pitch — completely
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. swing — music

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