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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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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: bowl · racket · cue · arm · file · pop · rule · shower

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. rule — a law
  7. shower — to wash
  8. rule — government
  9. file — a tool
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — a signal
  15. file — a line of people
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. shower — rain
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. pop — music
  20. file — a document
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. bowl — a dish

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