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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: land · rock · clip · rule · band · pass · wound · chip

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. land — ground
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. rock — music
  5. rule — a law
  6. chip — for betting
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. clip — to cut
  9. band — a ring
  10. pass — a permit
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. land — to come down
  13. rock — a stone
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. band — a music group
  16. clip — a video
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. land — a country
  22. chip — to eat
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. band — a rubber band

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