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

Word bank: cold · arm · rule · coach · bark · cell

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. 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. cold — the Cold War
  2. rule — government
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. cell — in biology
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rule — a law
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bark — to shout
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. 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