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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: mark · wax · field · date · clip · season · mine · present

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. mark — a trace
  4. clip — for paper
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. present — the time now
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. field — a subject
  10. present — there
  11. season — in sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. season — of the year
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. present — a gift
  17. field — farmland
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. date — the fruit
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wax — to grow

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