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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 · racket · rule · fan · hide · file · kick · firm

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. cold — not warm
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. firm — steady
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. rule — government
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. firm — a company
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. rule — a law
  17. kick — in football
  18. firm — decided
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. kick — a thrill

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