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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 116 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: trunk · cold · lean · file · bat · pitch · stand · stock

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stock — shares
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. file — a line of people
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. lean — to bend
  10. cold — not warm
  11. file — a document
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bat — the animal
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. stock — goods
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. file — a tool
  24. lean — thin

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