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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. spell — magic
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. file — a line of people
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rule — a law
  11. file — a document
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. current — of water
  15. current — electric
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. current — happening now
  18. file — a tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. spell — letters
  21. shower — rain
  22. spell — a short time
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. plane — a tool

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