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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: current · rule · chest · wind · present · temple · saw · lash

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. present — a gift
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. rule — a law
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. wind — moving air
  9. current — of water
  10. chest — of your body
  11. saw — the tool
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. wind — moving air
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. chest — of your body
  16. current — electric
  17. saw — the tool
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. chest — a box
  20. current — happening now
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. wind — to turn a key

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