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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. clip — a video
  3. kid — child
  4. field — a subject
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. rule — government
  7. mark — a grade
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. clip — to cut
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mark — a trace
  15. kid — to tease
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rule — a law
  18. racket — a loud noise

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