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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: kick · cold · rule · game · rest · current · club · mouse

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. club — a group
  4. current — happening now
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. club — for golf
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. rest — what's left
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. current — electric
  13. kick — in football
  14. club — for dancing
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rest — what's left
  18. current — of water
  19. game — a match
  20. rule — a law
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. rest — a break
  23. rule — government
  24. cold — not warm

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