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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 · mark · swing · rule · kid · club · stand · scale

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. scale — in music
  3. cold — an illness
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. kid — child
  6. swing — in golf
  7. mark — a trace
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. club — a group
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stand — to bear
  14. rule — government
  15. club — for golf
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. swing — music
  18. club — for dancing
  19. kid — to tease
  20. scale — size or range
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. rule — a law
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. mark — a grade

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