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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 116 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: pitch · pit · hand · bass · cold · game · current · key

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. current — of water
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bass — the fish
  7. pit — a hole
  8. hand — in cards
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. key — the most important part
  15. current — happening now
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cold — an illness
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. key — in music
  23. bass — low music
  24. pit — in a race

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