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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: staff · club · suit · date · cold · pound · snap · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. club — a group
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. club — for dancing
  7. staff — a stick
  8. suit — in cards
  9. cold — an illness
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. suit — clothes
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. suit — to fit
  18. club — for golf
  19. staff — employees
  20. pound — a weight
  21. date — the fruit
  22. snap — to click
  23. staff — employees
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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