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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. band — a ring
  3. current — happening now
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rule — government
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rule — a law
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. shower — rain
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. current — electric
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. band — a music group
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. current — of water
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. squash — the sport
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. squash — to crush
  24. kid — child

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