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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. key — for a lock
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. current — electric
  5. snap — to click
  6. key — the most important part
  7. rule — a law
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. rule — government
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. tear — from crying
  12. current — of water
  13. wind — moving air
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. tear — to rip
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. tear — from crying
  18. current — happening now
  19. key — in music
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. wind — moving air

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