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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 120 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: degree · pitch · field · land · stem · deal · bank · stock

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — of a river
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. land — a country
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stock — shares
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bank — for money
  12. field — farmland
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. field — for sport
  16. stock — goods
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. degree — temperature
  19. land — to come down
  20. pitch — completely
  21. degree — an amount
  22. field — a subject
  23. land — ground
  24. pitch — a sports field

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