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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cue · march · game · cold · can · mine · rule · coach

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. cold — not warm
  5. march — music
  6. cue — a signal
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. game — a match
  10. can — a tin
  11. mine — for digging
  12. game — wild animals
  13. march — the month
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cold — an illness
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. rule — a law
  23. march — the month
  24. game — a kind of play

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