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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · track · court · lash · swing · stock · branch · racket

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stock — shares
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. branch — a division
  8. court — for sport
  9. swing — in golf
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. track — a song
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. stock — goods
  16. track — to keep track
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. branch — of a tree

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