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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rule — a law
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. kid — child
  5. current — happening now
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. spring — the season
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. current — electric
  12. ball — a great time
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — the underground
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — hurry
  18. spring — of water
  19. fork — in a road
  20. rule — government
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. current — of water
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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