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

Word bank: rule · fork · cell · fall · cold · rush

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cell — in biology
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fork — in a road
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fall — the season
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — government

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