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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: cold · stock · band · pass · rule · tube · hide · court

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stock — shares
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. band — a ring
  14. court — for sport
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. band — a music group
  18. court — of a king
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. court — of law
  24. pass — a permit

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