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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 · saw · mate · charge · last · file · game · field

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. last — final
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. charge — electricity
  10. game — a match
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mate — to breed
  15. last — to go on
  16. saw — the tool
  17. charge — in control
  18. game — wild animals
  19. charge — a price
  20. mate — a friend
  21. last — finally
  22. mate — a partner
  23. field — farmland
  24. game — a kind of play

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