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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: pitch · coach · saw · band · clip · stock · deal · stem

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. band — a music group
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — to handle
  7. stock — goods
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. clip — a video
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. pitch — completely
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. saw — the tool
  16. clip — to cut
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. stem — to come from
  20. clip — for paper
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. band — a ring
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. stem — a stem cell

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