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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · file · press · cue · cold · date · rash · last

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cue — a hint
  4. last — finally
  5. file — a line of people
  6. court — of law
  7. file — a tool
  8. press — a publisher
  9. cue — a signal
  10. rash — a series
  11. court — for sport
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cold — an illness
  15. last — to go on
  16. press — to push
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. file — a document
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. rash — hasty
  21. date — the fruit
  22. last — final
  23. court — of a king
  24. cold — not warm

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