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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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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: mate · fork · pop · bat · rule · racket · clip · pitcher

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pop — to visit
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. clip — a video
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mate — a friend
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. mate — to breed
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pop — soda
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. rule — a law
  24. racket — for tennis

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