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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: rule · leaves · mouse · march · pound · swing · kid · cold

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. rule — government
  3. march — the month
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. swing — music
  9. rule — a law
  10. swing — to play on
  11. cold — an illness
  12. swing — in golf
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. kid — child
  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