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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. chest — of your body
  4. kid — child
  5. rest — a break
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rule — government
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. present — a gift
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rush — hurry
  13. chest — a box
  14. kid — to tease
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — there
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rest — what's left
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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