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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: bound · cold · rule · present · swing · ruler · shower · scale

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. swing — music
  3. rule — government
  4. cold — not warm
  5. swing — to play on
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. present — the time now
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bound — certain
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rule — a law
  12. shower — to wash
  13. scale — in music
  14. bound — tied together
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. present — there
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. swing — in golf
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. present — a gift
  23. bound — obliged
  24. shower — rain

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