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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.

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: wave · swing · bound · cold · ruler · spring · pitcher · rule

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. spring — a coil
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. rule — government
  10. spring — of water
  11. swing — music
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. rule — a law
  17. bound — obliged
  18. spring — the season
  19. bound — certain
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bound — tied together
  22. swing — in golf
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. swing — to play on

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