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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: clip · band · pitch · snap · deal · season · rule · saw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. clip — a video
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. clip — to cut
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. season — of the year
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. snap — to click
  13. deal — to handle
  14. season — in sport
  15. saw — the tool
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rule — government
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a ring
  20. rule — a law
  21. pitch — completely
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. pitch — a sports field

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