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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pop · march · rule · net · cue · straw · fan · cold

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. rule — a law
  3. march — the month
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cue — for pool
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pop — soda
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. net — after costs
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pop — music
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. rule — government
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. net — for catching
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. net — in sport
  24. straw — dry grass

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