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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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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: rule · hide · chest · fork · rash · current · wake · row

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rule — a law
  3. fork — in a road
  4. chest — of your body
  5. current — electric
  6. wake — a trail
  7. chest — a box
  8. rule — government
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. rash — hasty
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. rash — a series
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. current — happening now
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. current — of water
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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