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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: cold · swing · sharp · mouse · pitch · kid · rule · bank

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rule — a law
  5. bank — of a river
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. kid — child
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. pitch — completely
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. cold — an illness
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. swing — music
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. rule — government
  22. swing — to play on
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. sharp — clever

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