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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: fall · cold · game · racket · hide · rule · pop · chair

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. game — a match
  3. pop — music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cold — not warm
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. rule — government
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. rule — a law
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pop — soda
  21. game — wild animals
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. pop — to visit

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