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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 · rule · mate · tear · pitcher · rock · stock · fan

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. mate — a friend
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mate — a partner
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. stock — goods
  9. clip — to cut
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rock — a stone
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rock — music
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. stock — shares
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. mate — to breed
  20. rule — government
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. clip — a video

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