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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. scale — in music
  6. rule — government
  7. current — happening now
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. current — electric
  10. rule — a law
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — a series
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. rash — hasty
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cap — of ice
  19. current — of water
  20. pound — a weight
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. cap — a hat
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cap — a lid

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