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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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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: cold · hide · season · date · wound · rule · rest · stick

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. rule — a law
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. rest — a break
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. season — in sport
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wound — an injury
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. cold — an illness
  22. season — of the year
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wound — an injury

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