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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: pit · band · clip · rule · rock · hide · stock · pound

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pound — a weight
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. rock — music
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pit — in a race
  8. rule — government
  9. pit — a hole
  10. band — a ring
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. clip — for paper
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. rule — a law
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. band — a music group
  20. clip — a video
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. rock — a stone
  24. pound — for dogs

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