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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: hand · pitch · mark · clip · rule · season · stock · dip

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. hand — help
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stock — goods
  10. season — in sport
  11. clip — to cut
  12. season — of the year
  13. pitch — completely
  14. mark — a grade
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stock — shares
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. rule — a law
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. mark — a trace
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — a sauce

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