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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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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: tear · field · content · bowl · coach · pound

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. field — for sport
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. field — farmland
  7. tear — from crying
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. content — happy
  12. field — a subject
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. content — the amount
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying

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