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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: band · prune · rule · pitch · ruler · clip

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pitch — completely
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — government
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. band — a music group
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. band — a ring
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitch — a sports field

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