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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. field — a subject
  3. pound — a weight
  4. last — finally
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. band — a ring
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bass — low music
  10. band — a music group
  11. tube — a container
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. last — to go on
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bass — the fish

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