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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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468
Word bank
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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: kid · fall · charge · land · stock · rule · toast · rash

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. kid — child
  5. rash — hasty
  6. fall — the season
  7. stock — goods
  8. rule — government
  9. stock — shares
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. charge — a price
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. fall — to drop
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. charge — electricity
  17. rash — a series
  18. rule — a law
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fall — to drop
  22. charge — in control
  23. toast — bread
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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