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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pound — a weight
  3. rule — government
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. kid — child
  6. rash — a series
  7. fall — the season
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bat — the animal
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fall — to drop
  12. land — to come down
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. kid — to tease
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. land — ground
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. rule — a law
  23. wake — a trail
  24. land — a country

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