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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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 — to rule out
  2. current — electric
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rule — government
  5. wind — moving air
  6. land — ground
  7. scale — in music
  8. land — to come down
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. current — happening now
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. scale — size or range
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. land — a country
  19. rule — a law
  20. current — of water
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — a safe
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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