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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. track — a song
  3. mine — for digging
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. swing — in golf
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stock — goods
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. swing — music
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. swing — to play on
  15. toast — bread
  16. track — a path
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pitch — completely
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. stock — shares
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. track — to keep track

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