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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: face · clip · chair · stand · season · land · wind · fine

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wind — moving air
  3. face — to confront
  4. clip — a video
  5. face — to point toward
  6. chair — a leader
  7. face — part of the head
  8. stand — to bear
  9. season — in sport
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fine — high quality
  14. land — to come down
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. fine — all right
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. fine — a penalty

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