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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: shower · cabinet · rule · court · swing · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. swing — in golf
  3. rule — government
  4. court — of law
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. court — of a king
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cold — not warm
  13. swing — to play on
  14. court — for sport
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. swing — music
  17. rule — a law
  18. cabinet — ministers

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