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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 · firm · cell · cue · cold · lash · game · saw

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. firm — a company
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cue — a signal
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cue — a hint
  13. game — a match
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cold — an illness
  17. saw — the tool
  18. firm — decided
  19. pitch — completely
  20. cold — not warm
  21. firm — steady
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. saw — the tool

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