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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. deal — to handle
  3. kid — to tease
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. rush — hurry
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. kid — child
  12. net — in sport
  13. file — a document
  14. rule — a law
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. rule — government
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. rash — a series
  24. rule — to rule out

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