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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 120 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: mine · scale · field · bank · last · fine · fork · clip

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. clip — a video
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bank — for money
  6. last — to go on
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fork — in a road
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. last — final
  13. fine — all right
  14. last — finally
  15. clip — to cut
  16. field — farmland
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. field — a subject
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. field — for sport
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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