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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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Word bank
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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: wind · rule · pit · pass · cold · saw

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pass — a permit
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rule — government
  18. pass — to succeed

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