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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 · race · stock · swing · clip · track · stick · ball

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. track — a song
  3. swing — music
  4. ball — a dance
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stock — goods
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. track — to keep track
  9. pitch — completely
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. race — a contest
  17. track — a path
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — the arms race
  20. swing — in golf
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — shares
  23. swing — to play on
  24. clip — a video

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