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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: drill · key · rule · bank · clip · wind · staff · land

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  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 — government
  2. staff — a stick
  3. key — for a lock
  4. staff — employees
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. land — ground
  8. rule — a law
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wind — moving air
  11. land — a country
  12. drill — army training
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. land — to come down
  17. bank — of a river
  18. key — in music
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bank — for money
  21. clip — for paper
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bank — for money
  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