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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: cold · tear · current · kick · firm · pitch

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. kick — in football
  3. current — electric
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. firm — steady
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. tear — to rip
  10. firm — a company
  11. current — of water
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. tear — from crying
  16. firm — decided
  17. pitch — completely
  18. current — happening now

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