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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: current · pitch · cold · stand · chair · scale · tear · pit

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pit — in a race
  3. stand — to bear
  4. scale — in music
  5. current — electric
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. scale — size or range
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cold — not warm
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. tear — from crying
  18. current — of water
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pit — a hole
  22. tear — from crying
  23. current — happening now
  24. pitch — completely

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