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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 116 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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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: chair · drill · bank · row · rule · rest · cold · deal

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. drill — the tool
  4. row — to paddle
  5. deal — to handle
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — of a river
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chair — a leader
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. rule — government
  14. bank — for money
  15. drill — a practice
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. rule — a law
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. row — a line
  24. drill — army training

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