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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · dip · pitch · cold · land · bark · lie · racket

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. dip — to sink
  3. land — a country
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stock — goods
  7. bark — to shout
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. land — to come down
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. cold — not warm
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cold — an illness
  23. land — ground
  24. stock — shares

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