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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. saw — the tool
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. rule — a law
  7. saw — the tool
  8. stock — shares
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. stock — goods
  11. rest — a break
  12. snap — to click
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rule — government
  15. kid — child
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. rest — what's left
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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