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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 120 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: fan · rash · pop · rule · fine · bat · cold · squash

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rash — a series
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. squash — to crush
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pop — music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. rule — government
  15. cold — not warm
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fine — all right
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rash — on the skin

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