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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · stock · bat · date · coach · branch · chair · pitch

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. march — music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. stock — goods
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. march — the month
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stock — shares
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. chair — a leader
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. march — the month
  23. branch — a division
  24. date — the fruit

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