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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: jam · mine · wound · capital · pitch · stock · racket · wake

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. jam — to spread on bread
  2. pitch — completely
  3. stock — goods
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. capital — money
  11. wound — an injury
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wound — an injury
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. stock — shares
  23. capital — a city
  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