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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 · shower · mate · mine · wake · roll · rule · deal

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. current — electric
  3. current — of water
  4. deal — to handle
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a list
  10. rule — a law
  11. current — happening now
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wake — a trail
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. shower — to wash
  19. roll — a cake
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. shower — rain
  23. rule — government
  24. mine — an explosive

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