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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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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: craft · mate · cold · rule · kick · club

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. club — a group
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cold — not warm
  6. craft — a skill
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. mate — to breed
  9. rule — government
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cold — an illness
  12. club — for golf
  13. mate — a partner
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. kick — in football
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. craft — boats
  18. rule — a law

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