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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: pitch · net · swing · date · stock · stem · game · vault

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. date — the fruit
  4. swing — in golf
  5. net — in sport
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. stock — shares
  9. vault — a safe
  10. pitch — completely
  11. game — a match
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. swing — to play on
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. net — for catching
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stock — goods
  21. swing — music
  22. net — after costs
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stem — of a plant

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