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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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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: staff · kick · mark · straw · rule · cold · jam · game

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. mark — a trace
  9. staff — a stick
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. game — wild animals
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. rule — a law
  18. staff — employees
  19. mark — a grade
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. rule — government
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cold — an illness
  24. game — a match

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