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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · rash · kid · key · file · cell

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rule — a law
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cell — in biology
  8. rule — government
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. key — for a lock
  12. key — the most important part
  13. cell — a phone
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rash — a series
  16. file — a tool
  17. key — in music
  18. file — a document

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