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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 116 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: spell · fine · key · clip · chair · field · land · last

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. land — a country
  5. field — a subject
  6. clip — to cut
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. field — for sport
  9. chair — a leader
  10. field — farmland
  11. key — for a lock
  12. fine — high quality
  13. land — to come down
  14. spell — a short time
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. land — ground
  17. fine — all right
  18. key — the most important part
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — magic
  21. last — final
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. key — in music
  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