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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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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 · fall · rule · key · jam · bat · pitch · tear

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pitch — completely
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. key — in music
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rule — a law
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. clip — to cut
  14. key — the most important part
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bat — the animal
  17. clip — a video
  18. rule — government
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. fall — the season
  22. tear — from crying
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. key — for a lock

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