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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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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wind — moving air
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cue — a signal
  9. rule — a law
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. degree — an amount
  12. drill — army training
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rule — government
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wind — moving air
  17. drill — the tool
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rash — a series
  20. degree — temperature
  21. hand — help
  22. rash — hasty
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cue — for pool

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