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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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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: bay · scale · pitch · court · current · capital · cold · dip

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. cold — an illness
  3. dip — to sink
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. capital — a city
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — completely
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. court — of a king
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. court — for sport
  14. capital — money
  15. current — happening now
  16. court — of law
  17. current — of water
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. scale — size or range
  21. current — electric
  22. cold — not warm
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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