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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. stock — goods
  3. roll — a list
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. mate — to breed
  6. shower — rain
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. kid — child
  9. current — happening now
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — a partner
  12. rule — government
  13. current — of water
  14. stock — shares
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — for golf
  17. roll — a cake
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. shower — to wash
  20. club — a group
  21. kid — to tease
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rule — a law
  24. roll — on a roll

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