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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 · rule · cell · leaves · band · court · cabinet · cue

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — a hint
  6. band — a music group
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. band — a ring
  18. cold — an illness
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. court — of law
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. rule — a law

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