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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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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: cold · cabinet · fan · cue · court · rash · club · sharp

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rash — a series
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cue — for pool
  16. court — for sport
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — a group
  22. court — of a king
  23. club — for golf
  24. court — of law

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