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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. ground — crushed
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. ground — the earth
  5. clip — to cut
  6. current — of water
  7. march — music
  8. clip — for paper
  9. staff — a stick
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. ground — a position
  12. staff — employees
  13. current — electric
  14. march — the month
  15. land — ground
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down
  19. clip — a video
  20. current — happening now
  21. rule — a law
  22. march — the month
  23. chair — a leader
  24. staff — employees

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