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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: pitch · rule · cold · chair · wind · chip · club · stand

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. chip — for betting
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. chip — to eat
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stand — to bear
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pitch — completely
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. club — for dancing
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. rule — government

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