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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: club · perch · rash · prune · track · stock · pitch · band

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. perch — the fish
  3. rash — hasty
  4. track — a song
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for dancing
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. stock — shares
  13. prune — to trim
  14. club — for golf
  15. band — a ring
  16. track — a path
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stock — goods
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. band — a music group
  23. pitch — completely
  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