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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: deal · cold · shower · rest · rush · game · scale · pit

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. deal — to handle
  4. shower — rain
  5. pit — in a race
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. rest — what's left
  9. game — wild animals
  10. scale — size or range
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. game — a match
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pit — a hole
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — hurry
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. scale — in music
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. cold — the Cold War

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