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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  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. rule — government
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. current — electric
  5. clip — a video
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bat — the animal
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. stock — shares
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. current — happening now
  20. rule — a law
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. stock — goods
  23. current — of water
  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