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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: track · hand · stock · spell · dip · cell · rash · pitch

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. track — a song
  3. cell — a phone
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stock — goods
  9. rash — hasty
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. stock — shares
  12. track — a path
  13. spell — magic
  14. dip — to sink
  15. hand — help
  16. cell — in biology
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. rash — a series
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. track — to keep track

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