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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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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: band · wind · pitch · snap · present · ground · stock · rest

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wind — moving air
  3. present — there
  4. ground — a position
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. rest — a break
  7. snap — to click
  8. rest — what's left
  9. present — a gift
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wind — moving air
  12. present — the time now
  13. pitch — completely
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. rest — what's left
  17. ground — crushed
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. stock — shares
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. band — a music group
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stock — goods

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