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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. root — the cause
  3. last — finally
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. kid — child
  8. last — final
  9. kid — to tease
  10. hand — in cards
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. root — of a word
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — electric
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. root — of a plant
  24. current — of water

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