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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. file — a line of people
  5. rule — a law
  6. file — a tool
  7. kid — child
  8. rash — a series
  9. current — of water
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. lie — to recline
  14. rule — government
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. current — electric
  18. current — happening now
  19. kid — to tease
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. land — to come down
  22. file — a document
  23. lie — an untruth
  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