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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. hand — help
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ball — a dance
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rule — government
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to click
  12. land — ground
  13. rule — a law
  14. rash — hasty
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. kid — child
  21. ball — a great time
  22. kid — to tease
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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