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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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468
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: hand · pit · press · cold · pitch · current · chair · firm

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. pit — in a race
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. current — of water
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. firm — steady
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pit — a hole
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pitch — completely
  15. current — happening now
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. firm — decided
  18. cold — not warm
  19. firm — a company
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. hand — help

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