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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: race · season · drill · row · club · cold · cue · chair

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cue — a signal
  5. season — in sport
  6. race — the arms race
  7. row — to paddle
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. season — of the year
  10. race — a contest
  11. club — a group
  12. race — humankind
  13. cold — not warm
  14. club — for golf
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cold — an illness
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. drill — the tool
  22. row — a line
  23. club — for dancing
  24. chair — a leader

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