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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: wake · cue · rule · temple · cold · race · deal · tear

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cue — a signal
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. race — the arms race
  5. tear — to rip
  6. cold — an illness
  7. tear — from crying
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cue — a hint
  11. rule — government
  12. race — humankind
  13. rule — a law
  14. tear — from crying
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. wake — a trail
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. race — a contest
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. deal — to handle
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wake — before a funeral

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