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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: kid · rule · firm · field · kick · mouse

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. 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. rule — government
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. rule — a law
  6. firm — decided
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. field — farmland
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — steady
  14. kick — in football
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. 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