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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: pitch · track · stock · march · stand · pitcher · press · tear

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. stock — shares
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. press — newspapers
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — completely
  10. march — the month
  11. stand — to bear
  12. press — a publisher
  13. track — a song
  14. press — to push
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. march — music
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. march — the month
  20. stock — goods
  21. tear — to rip
  22. track — a path
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. track — to keep track

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