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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: club · fall · stock · ball · rule · clip · jam · lash

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. fall — to drop
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. clip — a video
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. clip — to cut
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. rule — a law
  14. stock — goods
  15. ball — a dance
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rule — government
  18. club — for dancing
  19. stock — shares
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — a group
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. ball — a great time

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