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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: arm · ground · can · cue · racket · rule · cold · perch

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. rule — government
  4. can — a tin
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. can — to be able to
  7. ground — crushed
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cold — an illness
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. can — a tin
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cold — not warm
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cue — for pool
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. ground — a position
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. ground — the earth

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