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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: stock · firm · mine · patient · chip · pitch · degree · coach

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  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 sales talk
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. firm — a company
  5. degree — an amount
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. stock — shares
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. chip — for betting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chip — to eat
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — goods
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. firm — decided
  19. pitch — completely
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mine — for digging
  23. firm — steady
  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