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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.

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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: net · pitch · stem · bat · coach · hand · rash · track

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. net — for catching
  2. rash — hasty
  3. track — a song
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. track — a path
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. hand — help
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. track — to keep track
  14. net — in sport
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bat — the animal
  21. net — after costs
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pitch — completely
  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