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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: stick · drill · fan · kid · rule · cell · shower · track

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. track — a song
  3. rule — government
  4. kid — to tease
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cell — in biology
  7. track — a path
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. track — to keep track
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. drill — the tool
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. shower — rain
  22. kid — child
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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