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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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468
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: swing · stem · mate · stock · pitch · club · bat · bass

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. club — for golf
  3. mate — a partner
  4. swing — to play on
  5. club — a group
  6. swing — music
  7. bass — low music
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pitch — completely
  12. swing — in golf
  13. stock — shares
  14. stem — to come from
  15. mate — to breed
  16. stock — goods
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bat — the animal
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. mate — a friend
  24. stem — a stem cell

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