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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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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: chair · lean · cold · scale · pit · fall · pitch · squash

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. squash — to crush
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pit — a hole
  8. chair — a leader
  9. pitch — completely
  10. fall — the season
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. scale — size or range
  13. squash — the sport
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pit — in a race
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cold — not warm
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. lean — to bend
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. lean — thin

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