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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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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 · current · row · shower · kid · fan · file · pound

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rule — government
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. current — happening now
  6. rule — a law
  7. current — electric
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. shower — rain
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. row — to paddle
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. current — of water
  18. kid — to tease
  19. file — a line of people
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pound — a weight
  23. row — a line
  24. kid — child

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