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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: clip · last · safe · rule · rash · field · pitch · roll

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rash — a series
  5. rule — government
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. last — final
  8. field — farmland
  9. last — to go on
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. rule — a law
  12. roll — a list
  13. last — finally
  14. rash — hasty
  15. field — for sport
  16. pitch — completely
  17. clip — a video
  18. field — a subject
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. roll — a cake
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rash — on the skin

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