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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. hand — help
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rash — a series
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. net — after costs
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kid — child
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — government
  14. net — in sport
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — high quality
  20. wax — to grow
  21. net — for catching
  22. kid — to tease
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. rash — hasty

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