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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. cold — an illness
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rush — hurry
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. kid — child
  8. file — a line of people
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cue — a hint
  11. rule — government
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rule — a law
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. file — a document
  19. cue — a signal
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rest — what's left
  22. kid — to tease
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. file — a tool

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