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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. ball — a great time
  3. rule — government
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cap — a hat
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cap — of ice
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. tube — a container
  13. staff — employees
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cap — a lid
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. game — a match
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bound — tied together
  20. staff — employees
  21. bound — certain
  22. cold — not warm
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. tube — the underground

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