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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: spell · pitcher · firm · clip · staff · field · racket · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. spell — a short time
  3. firm — steady
  4. field — for sport
  5. clip — a video
  6. staff — a stick
  7. land — to come down
  8. spell — magic
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. clip — to cut
  12. staff — employees
  13. field — farmland
  14. firm — decided
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. land — a country
  17. firm — a company
  18. spell — letters
  19. field — a subject
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. clip — for paper
  24. staff — employees

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