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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: bound · snap · stock · clip · kid · object · field · rule

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bound — tied together
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — to protest
  7. snap — to click
  8. bound — certain
  9. kid — to tease
  10. object — a thing
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bound — obliged
  13. kid — child
  14. field — for sport
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. field — farmland
  17. rule — a law
  18. clip — a video
  19. stock — goods
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rule — government
  24. field — a subject

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