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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: pass · club · coach · file · field · last · bound · clip

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. bound — tied together
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. last — to go on
  6. field — farmland
  7. club — for dancing
  8. bound — obliged
  9. last — finally
  10. pass — a permit
  11. last — final
  12. bound — certain
  13. file — a tool
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. file — a document
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. club — for golf
  21. file — a line of people
  22. club — a group
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. clip — to cut

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