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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: firm · key · wax · squash · swing · pitch · cold · cell

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. pitch — completely
  3. firm — steady
  4. key — the most important part
  5. firm — decided
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. squash — the sport
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. cell — in biology
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. wax — to grow
  16. cold — not warm
  17. firm — a company
  18. swing — music
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cold — an illness
  24. swing — to play on

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