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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. net — for catching
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. chest — of your body
  6. snap — to click
  7. current — electric
  8. rule — government
  9. chest — a box
  10. swing — music
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. current — of water
  14. firm — steady
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. net — in sport
  18. current — happening now
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. chest — of your body
  21. net — after costs
  22. firm — a company
  23. firm — decided
  24. game — wild animals

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