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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: ruler · march · wind · cold · season · fall · pop · rush

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. season — in sport
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. pop — to visit
  5. march — the month
  6. pop — soda
  7. fall — the season
  8. march — the month
  9. rush — hurry
  10. pop — music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. march — music
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cold — not warm
  21. season — of the year
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ruler — for measuring

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