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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: field · cold · last · clip · calf · chair · land · fine

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. land — a country
  4. land — ground
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. field — farmland
  10. land — to come down
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fine — all right
  13. last — final
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. clip — to cut
  16. last — finally
  17. clip — a video
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. fine — high quality
  21. last — to go on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. field — a subject
  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