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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. rule — government
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. file — a line of people
  13. squash — the sport
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — a law
  16. file — a document
  17. squash — to crush
  18. kid — to tease
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. chest — a box
  21. kick — in football
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. kid — child
  24. pound — for dogs

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