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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: pitch · saw · stand · spring · clip · current · stock · track

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. stand — to bear
  4. current — electric
  5. stock — goods
  6. clip — a video
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. track — a path
  9. saw — the tool
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. current — happening now
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. track — a song
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. stock — shares
  21. track — to keep track
  22. saw — the tool
  23. spring — of water
  24. stand — for spectators

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