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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 120 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: chair · pitch · field · bank · track · saw · clip · stock

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bank — of a river
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. field — a subject
  6. pitch — completely
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. field — farmland
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. chair — a leader
  12. track — to keep track
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. clip — a video
  15. bank — for money
  16. field — for sport
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stock — shares
  20. bank — for money
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. track — a path
  24. stock — goods

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