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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: rule · march · cue · game · straw · calf · clip · cap

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. rule — government
  3. march — music
  4. rule — a law
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — for pool
  7. march — the month
  8. game — wild animals
  9. clip — to cut
  10. march — the month
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. clip — a video
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cap — of ice
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cap — a lid
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cap — a hat
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cue — a hint
  22. game — a match
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. calf — of the leg

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