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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. file — a tool
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. file — a document
  9. rule — a law
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. cold — not warm
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cold — an illness
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pop — music
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pop — to visit
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kid — to tease
  24. pop — soda

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