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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 116 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. face — to confront
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stock — goods
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. face — to point toward
  10. rule — government
  11. hand — help
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. kid — child
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. kid — to tease
  17. stock — shares
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. face — part of the head
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rule — a law
  24. wave — with your hand

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