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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: season · drill · rush · rule · ball · foot · straw · cold

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  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. foot — a measure
  2. drill — the tool
  3. rush — hurry
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. drill — army training
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. ball — a great time
  10. season — in sport
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. ball — a dance
  16. drill — a practice
  17. season — of the year
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rush — a thrill
  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