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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 120 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: pop · cold · cue · ruler · track · cell · court · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. cell — a phone
  3. track — a path
  4. pop — soda
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. court — of a king
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cold — an illness
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — music
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cue — a signal
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. club — for golf
  23. cue — for pool
  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