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

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  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. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. rest — a break
  6. board — to get on
  7. rest — what's left
  8. current — of water
  9. board — a committee
  10. pass — a permit
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. row — to paddle
  18. current — happening now
  19. rest — what's left
  20. row — a line
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. current — electric
  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