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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: rule · ruler · cold · pit · band · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. chest — a box
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rule — a law
  8. cold — not warm
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. rule — government
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a hole
  18. band — a rubber band

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