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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 120 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: arm · fall · clip · rock · rule · pitch · key · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. rule — government
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rock — music
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. key — the most important part
  8. pitch — completely
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rock — a stone
  17. pop — to visit
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. fall — to drop
  20. key — for a lock
  21. fall — the season
  22. pop — soda
  23. key — in music
  24. clip — a video

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