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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 · roll · coach · rash · cell · pitch · track · capital

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. stock — shares
  4. roll — a list
  5. capital — money
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. track — a path
  12. capital — a city
  13. cell — in biology
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. rash — hasty
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pitch — completely
  20. roll — a cake
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. track — to keep track
  23. stock — goods
  24. rash — a series

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