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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 116 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: rule · cap · clip · leaves · club · pit

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. club — for golf
  3. cap — a lid
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — a law
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. cap — of ice
  10. club — for dancing
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. pit — a hole
  17. club — a group
  18. clip — to cut

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