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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 116 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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. tube — the underground
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. club — for dancing
  7. lean — thin
  8. board — a committee
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. club — for golf
  11. tube — a container
  12. cap — a hat
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. last — finally
  16. club — a group
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. board — to get on
  20. lean — to bend
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. last — to go on
  23. cold — an illness
  24. last — final

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