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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: stock · board · spring · clip · mate · field · swing · pitch

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. swing — music
  3. stock — goods
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. spring — of water
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. spring — the season
  9. board — a committee
  10. clip — for paper
  11. board — to get on
  12. field — for sport
  13. clip — a video
  14. field — a subject
  15. stock — shares
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. spring — a coil
  18. field — farmland
  19. swing — in golf
  20. mate — a partner
  21. swing — to play on
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. pitch — completely
  24. stock — a soup base

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