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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 · straw · mug · stand · degree · stock · mine · spring

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. degree — temperature
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. mug — a face
  11. mug — to rob
  12. stand — to bear
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. stock — goods
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. degree — an amount
  21. mug — a cup
  22. pitch — completely
  23. stock — shares
  24. degree — from a university

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