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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: file · game · drill · roll · cold · cue · ruler · capital

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. roll — a list
  4. file — a document
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. cue — a hint
  7. game — wild animals
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. roll — a cake
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. file — a tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cold — not warm
  16. capital — a city
  17. game — a match
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. capital — money
  22. drill — the tool
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. drill — army training

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