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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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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: ball · cue · row · march · cell · rule

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. row — a line
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. cell — a phone
  5. rule — a law
  6. cell — in biology
  7. march — the month
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cue — a signal
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rule — government
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cue — a hint
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. march — music
  17. cue — for pool
  18. march — the month

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