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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cold — not warm
  3. root — of a word
  4. file — a tool
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. root — the cause
  7. rash — a series
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — electric
  10. land — to come down
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. current — of water
  13. mark — a trace
  14. root — of a plant
  15. land — ground
  16. cold — an illness
  17. file — a document
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a grade
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rash — on the skin

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