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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: march · field · object · clip · fork · cap · mark · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. field — for sport
  4. clip — a video
  5. fork — in a road
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — a thing
  10. field — a subject
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. march — the month
  13. object — an aim
  14. cap — a lid
  15. field — farmland
  16. mark — a grade
  17. cap — a hat
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cap — of ice
  21. fine — all right
  22. clip — to cut
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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