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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.

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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: mark · file · clip · pass · net · coach · wake · field

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mark — a trace
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. clip — a video
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wake — a trail
  12. pass — a permit
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. field — for sport
  15. file — a document
  16. net — in sport
  17. file — a line of people
  18. mark — a grade
  19. file — a tool
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. net — for catching
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. clip — to cut

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