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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 · press · scale · race · pit · cue · shower · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. race — a contest
  5. scale — size or range
  6. cue — for pool
  7. press — newspapers
  8. rash — a series
  9. cue — a hint
  10. race — the arms race
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. race — humankind
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cue — a signal
  16. shower — rain
  17. scale — in music
  18. press — to push
  19. pit — in a race
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. cold — an illness
  22. shower — to wash
  23. pit — a hole
  24. scale — for weighing

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