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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 120 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: mine · rule · lean · shower · pitch · cold · tube · cue

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rule — government
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cue — for pool
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pitch — completely
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. tube — the underground
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. tube — a container
  16. rule — a law
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. shower — rain
  22. lean — thin
  23. cue — a signal
  24. shower — to wash

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