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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rest — a break
  3. cap — of ice
  4. net — after costs
  5. stock — shares
  6. snap — to click
  7. current — of water
  8. current — electric
  9. rash — hasty
  10. net — in sport
  11. rule — government
  12. stock — goods
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — a hat
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rest — what's left
  20. net — for catching
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. current — happening now
  24. rash — a series

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