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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: clip · press · mark · fine · field · bat · date · roll

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. field — for sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. press — a publisher
  6. field — farmland
  7. clip — to cut
  8. roll — a cake
  9. press — newspapers
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. clip — a video
  12. roll — a list
  13. fine — all right
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. mark — a trace
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. field — a subject
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. press — to push

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