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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: object · calf · clip · can · file · capital · field · date

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. clip — for paper
  3. can — to be able to
  4. clip — to cut
  5. object — to protest
  6. can — a tin
  7. file — a line of people
  8. capital — money
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. object — an aim
  13. field — for sport
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. object — a thing
  20. capital — a city
  21. can — a tin
  22. clip — a video
  23. date — the fruit
  24. field — a subject

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