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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: mark · rule · field · kid · clip · racket · fan · mate

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

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. field — farmland
  4. mate — to breed
  5. kid — child
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. field — a subject
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mark — a trace
  12. field — for sport
  13. mark — a grade
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mate — a partner
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rule — a law
  21. clip — a video
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. rule — government
  24. fan — a supporter

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