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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 120 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: firm · cold · cap · wind · pitch · rule

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. wind — moving air
  3. firm — steady
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rule — a law
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — of ice
  13. firm — decided
  14. pitch — completely
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rule — government
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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