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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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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: clip · rule · key · degree · pound · pitch · hide · leaves

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. clip — to cut
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. pitch — completely
  8. clip — a video
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. rule — government
  11. pound — a weight
  12. degree — from a university
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rule — a law
  15. key — in music
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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