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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: deal · craft · rule · current · net · squash · date · kid

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. net — after costs
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. craft — a skill
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. squash — the sport
  9. current — of water
  10. date — the fruit
  11. deal — to handle
  12. craft — boats
  13. current — electric
  14. kid — to tease
  15. current — happening now
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — a law

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