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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: field · mouse · cue · cold · net · firm · rule · clip

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. cue — a hint
  3. field — a subject
  4. rule — government
  5. field — for sport
  6. cue — for pool
  7. firm — steady
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. firm — decided
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cold — an illness
  13. net — for catching
  14. rule — a law
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. firm — a company
  19. clip — a video
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. field — farmland
  24. clip — for paper

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