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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
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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: clip · date · perch · leaves · bat · file · mug · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. mug — to rob
  9. date — the fruit
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. perch — the fish
  14. mug — a cup
  15. file — a tool
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a document
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mug — a face
  24. file — a line of people

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