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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: bound · field · mark · coach · clip · date · craft · racket

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  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. date — on the calendar
  2. clip — a video
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. bound — certain
  5. clip — for paper
  6. field — for sport
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bound — obliged
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. craft — a skill
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. craft — boats
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — a trace
  18. date — the fruit
  19. field — a subject
  20. bound — tied together
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. field — farmland
  23. racket — for tennis
  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