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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
468
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: field · pass · file · tear · ball · clip · hand · fork

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. clip — for paper
  3. file — a tool
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. ball — a great time
  7. field — a subject
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. clip — a video
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. file — a line of people
  13. tear — to rip
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — for sport
  16. fork — in a road
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. ball — a dance
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. file — a document
  24. fork — to eat with

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