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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: face · safe · row · rule · squash · mouse · date · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rule — a law
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — to confront
  6. squash — the sport
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. row — a line
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rule — government
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. row — to paddle
  24. squash — to crush

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