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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cold — not warm
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. march — music
  11. tube — the underground
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rule — a law
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. rush — hurry
  18. branch — a division
  19. march — the month
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rule — government
  22. march — the month
  23. tube — a container
  24. cold — an illness

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