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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 120 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: lean · swing · content · cue · cold · fall · capital · rule

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cue — for pool
  4. lean — thin
  5. cue — a hint
  6. content — the amount
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rule — government
  9. swing — to play on
  10. rule — a law
  11. fall — the season
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. swing — music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. swing — in golf
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. cue — a signal
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. capital — a city

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