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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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: fork · swing · clip · track · staff · mate · stock · pitch

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. clip — to cut
  5. staff — employees
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. track — a song
  8. swing — to play on
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — shares
  12. mate — a friend
  13. track — to keep track
  14. swing — in golf
  15. pitch — completely
  16. stock — goods
  17. staff — a stick
  18. mate — to breed
  19. clip — a video
  20. track — a path
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. staff — employees
  24. swing — music

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