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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 116 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: rash · current · file · mouse · kid · wind · rest · chair

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rash — a series
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. current — electric
  14. current — of water
  15. rest — a break
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rash — hasty
  19. kid — to tease
  20. file — a tool
  21. current — happening now
  22. rest — what's left
  23. kid — child
  24. wind — moving air

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