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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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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: cue · rule · board · court · wind · ruler · hide · content

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cue — a signal
  3. board — a committee
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. cue — a hint
  6. court — of a king
  7. cue — for pool
  8. court — of law
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. court — for sport
  11. board — to get on
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rule — government
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. rule — a law
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. content — happy
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. content — the amount
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. ruler — for measuring

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