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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: rule · firm · snap · march · bat · track · band · pitch

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rule — government
  4. march — the month
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. band — a music group
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. track — a song
  12. pitch — completely
  13. rule — a law
  14. march — the month
  15. firm — steady
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. snap — to click
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. track — to keep track
  20. firm — a company
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. band — a ring
  23. firm — decided
  24. march — music

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