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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. court — for sport
  3. rule — government
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cue — a signal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. court — of a king
  9. cold — an illness
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cue — a hint
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. ball — a dance
  14. swing — music
  15. branch — a division
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cue — for pool
  18. court — of law
  19. cold — not warm
  20. ball — a great time
  21. rule — a law
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. ball — a round shape

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