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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 120 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: rush · bowl · pitch · rule · hand · rest · cold · suit

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. suit — clothes
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. rush — hurry
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. suit — to fit
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. rest — a break
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rule — government
  22. suit — in cards
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rest — what's left

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