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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: rule · game · coach · ruler · arm · cell · lean · content

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. cell — in biology
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. lean — thin
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. content — happy
  19. cell — a phone
  20. content — the amount
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. game — a match
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. lean — to bend

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