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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.

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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: cell · object · cold · game · rule · clip · coach · stem

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. object — an aim
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cold — not warm
  5. clip — for paper
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. rule — government
  9. game — a match
  10. object — to protest
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. clip — a video
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cell — in biology
  20. object — a thing
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cell — a phone
  24. rule — a law

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