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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.

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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 · club · ruler · cell · temple · rule · staff · hand

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. club — for dancing
  4. staff — employees
  5. hand — in cards
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cold — not warm
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. staff — a stick
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cell — in biology
  14. staff — employees
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. hand — help
  19. club — for golf
  20. cell — a phone
  21. club — a group
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. rule — a law
  24. cold — an illness

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