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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: rush · club · chip · cold · swing · dip · ruler · cell

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. swing — music
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. rush — hurry
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. club — a group
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. dip — to sink
  19. club — for golf
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — to eat
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cold — an illness

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