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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 120 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: rock · row · dip · cold · stem · pitch · court · stand

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. stand — to bear
  6. court — of law
  7. dip — to sink
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. row — to paddle
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — music
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. rock — a stone
  16. row — a line
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stem — to come from
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of a king

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