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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 116 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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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: last · rule · board · game · pop · cue · cold · current

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cold — an illness
  6. current — of water
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. last — final
  9. board — a committee
  10. cue — for pool
  11. board — to get on
  12. game — a match
  13. rule — a law
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — music
  16. cue — a signal
  17. current — electric
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. game — wild animals
  22. current — happening now
  23. pop — soda
  24. cold — not warm

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