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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rule — a law
  4. current — electric
  5. hand — help
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rash — a series
  10. pass — a permit
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. current — of water
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. current — happening now
  16. rash — hasty
  17. deal — to handle
  18. bark — to shout
  19. sharp — clever
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. rule — government

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