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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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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: chair · rule · pit · roll · cold · kick

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pit — in a race
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pit — a hole
  8. rule — a law
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. chair — a leader
  12. rule — government
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. roll — a list
  15. kick — in football
  16. roll — a cake
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. kick — with a leg

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