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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 120 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.

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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 · clip · spell · band · fall · stick · chair · fork

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. field — for sport
  5. fork — in a road
  6. spell — letters
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. band — a ring
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. clip — for paper
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fall — to drop
  14. band — a music group
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. spell — a short time
  17. clip — a video
  18. spell — magic
  19. fall — to drop
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fall — the season
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — a leader
  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