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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 120 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: racket · squash · cell · rule · cold · straw

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cell — a phone
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. cold — not warm
  17. squash — the sport
  18. racket — for tennis

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