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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: cue · rash · shower · coach · season · pit · file · drill

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. pit — a hole
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cue — a signal
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. pit — in a race
  7. season — of the year
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. drill — a practice
  10. shower — rain
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cue — for pool
  13. season — in sport
  14. rash — a series
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. file — a document
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. file — a line of people
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. drill — the tool
  21. file — a tool
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. drill — army training
  24. rash — hasty

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