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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 · face · field · fine · mark · wind · sharp · saw

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. field — a subject
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. clip — for paper
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — all right
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. mark — a grade
  12. field — for sport
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — part of the head
  15. clip — to cut
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. clip — a video
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fine — high quality
  20. sharp — clever
  21. mark — a trace
  22. face — to confront
  23. wind — moving air
  24. field — farmland

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