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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: cold · hand · court · present · tube · rule · saw · cabinet

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. present — the time now
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. court — for sport
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. court — of law
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. saw — the tool
  13. hand — help
  14. cold — an illness
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. present — a gift
  18. court — of a king
  19. tube — a container
  20. present — there
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rule — government
  24. saw — the tool

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