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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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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 · cell · pitch · current · chair · capital · bay · board

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. chair — a leader
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — to get on
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pitch — completely
  12. current — electric
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. stock — goods
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. current — happening now
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. current — of water
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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