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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
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: last · land · present · clip · chair · key · stand · capital

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. stand — to bear
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — there
  5. last — final
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. present — a gift
  9. last — to go on
  10. land — to come down
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. key — the most important part
  15. land — a country
  16. clip — for paper
  17. key — in music
  18. key — for a lock
  19. capital — money
  20. last — finally
  21. land — ground
  22. capital — a city
  23. clip — a video
  24. chair — to sit on

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