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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: sharp · mine · can · field · mark · saw · clip · date

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. field — a subject
  3. mine — for digging
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. date — the fruit
  6. can — to be able to
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. field — for sport
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. clip — for paper
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. field — farmland
  18. can — a tin
  19. mark — a trace
  20. saw — the tool
  21. can — a tin
  22. sharp — clever
  23. saw — the tool
  24. sharp — with an edge

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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