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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: club · rush · rest · cold · pass · mouse · root · game

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rush — hurry
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pass — a permit
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rest — a break
  7. game — a match
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. root — of a word
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. rest — what's left
  12. club — for golf
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. root — the cause
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rest — what's left
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — a group
  23. game — wild animals
  24. root — of a plant

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