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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: pass · staff · clip · rule · row · chair

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rule — government
  3. chair — a leader
  4. row — a line
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. staff — employees
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. staff — employees
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. staff — a stick
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pass — a permit

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