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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 · clip · ruler · toast · chair · rule · stock · cap

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. rule — government
  3. clip — to cut
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. land — a country
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. toast — bread
  12. land — ground
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. clip — a video
  17. land — to come down
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. cap — a hat
  20. rule — a law
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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