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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: ball · squash · cold · chair · rule · rush · leaves · club

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cold — not warm
  4. squash — the sport
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. rule — a law
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. club — for golf
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. club — a group
  18. ball — a great time
  19. club — for dancing
  20. rule — government
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. rush — a thrill

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