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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: hide · swing · last · kid · cold · rule · scale · fan

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. last — finally
  3. rule — a law
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. last — final
  7. rule — government
  8. kid — to tease
  9. swing — to play on
  10. last — to go on
  11. swing — music
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. scale — in music
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. kid — child
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. scale — size or range
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. swing — in golf

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