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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: pitcher · cell · race · pitch · jam · cold · tear · cue

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cue — for pool
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pitch — completely
  6. cue — a signal
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cue — a hint
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. race — humankind
  19. cold — an illness
  20. race — a contest
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cold — not warm
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. pitch — a sports field

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