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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. mate — a partner
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bank — of a river
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cold — an illness
  8. object — to protest
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — to breed
  11. rule — a law
  12. snap — to click
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rule — government
  15. cell — a phone
  16. current — of water
  17. object — a thing
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. object — an aim
  20. bank — for money
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cell — in biology
  23. current — happening now
  24. bank — for money

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