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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 · stock · lie · clip · fall · coach · band · ruler

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. pit — a fruit stone
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. band — a music group
  6. pit — in a race
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. stock — shares
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. lie — to recline
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stock — goods
  16. pit — a hole
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. fall — to drop
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. band — a ring
  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