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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rule — government
  3. clip — to cut
  4. current — happening now
  5. chip — for betting
  6. clip — for paper
  7. current — electric
  8. rash — a series
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. clip — a video
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. prune — to trim
  13. current — of water
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. prune — to trim
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. chip — to eat
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rule — a law
  23. rash — hasty
  24. kid — child

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