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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chair · field · tear · stand · content · clip · fine · spell

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. field — a subject
  3. chair — a leader
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. field — farmland
  7. stand — to bear
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. content — the amount
  12. clip — a video
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fine — all right
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. content — happy
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. tear — to rip
  23. fine — high quality
  24. field — for sport

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