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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: swing · arm · cold · bear · rule · pop · stick · game

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pop — soda
  4. swing — music
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. bear — the animal
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pop — to visit
  11. swing — to play on
  12. game — wild animals
  13. swing — in golf
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. pop — music
  16. rule — government
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bear — the animal
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — a match

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