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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mouse · spell · coach · stem · cold · game · rule · swing

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — to play on
  3. rule — a law
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cold — an illness
  10. spell — a short time
  11. game — a match
  12. swing — music
  13. spell — magic
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. spell — letters
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. rule — government
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. cold — the Cold War

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