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

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. band — a music group
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rule — a law
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cue — a signal
  8. rule — government
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cue — a hint
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. deal — to handle
  15. cold — not warm
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. saw — the tool
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. saw — the tool
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. band — a ring
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. cold — an illness

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