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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: cold · swing · rule · stand · ruler · clip · last · hand

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — in golf
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rule — a law
  5. cold — an illness
  6. clip — for paper
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. last — to go on
  10. rule — government
  11. last — finally
  12. hand — help
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stand — to bear
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. swing — to play on
  18. clip — a video
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. last — final
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. ruler — a monarch

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