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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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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 · cue · stock · dip · capital · race · clip · bank

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. clip — to cut
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. race — humankind
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. pitch — completely
  9. capital — money
  10. cue — a signal
  11. stock — shares
  12. cue — for pool
  13. stock — goods
  14. bank — for money
  15. capital — a city
  16. bank — for money
  17. clip — for paper
  18. dip — to sink
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — a contest
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cue — a hint
  23. clip — a video
  24. bank — of a river

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