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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: mate · pitch · clip · band · toast · rule

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. rule — government
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. band — a ring
  6. mate — a friend
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. rule — a law
  9. pitch — completely
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. band — a music group
  14. clip — for paper
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. mate — a partner
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. toast — bread

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