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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: chair · staff · fan · clip · ball · spell · last · rash

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  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. last — finally
  2. rash — a series
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. last — final
  6. ball — a great time
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rash — hasty
  9. last — to go on
  10. staff — employees
  11. clip — to cut
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. clip — for paper
  15. ball — a dance
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. staff — employees
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. staff — a stick
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. chair — a leader
  23. fan — a supporter
  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