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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wind — moving air
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. rule — a law
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kid — child
  7. drill — army training
  8. kid — to tease
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. drill — a practice
  12. net — after costs
  13. drill — the tool
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. tube — a container
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. date — the fruit
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. net — in sport

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