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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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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: rash · cold · wind · rule · scale · cue · foot · prune

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rash — a series
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cue — for pool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rash — hasty
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rule — a law
  11. scale — in music
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. cue — a signal
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cue — a hint
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cold — an illness
  22. foot — a measure
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. rule — government

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