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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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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: cell · bark · pound · wind · field · suit

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. suit — in cards
  3. pound — a weight
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. field — farmland
  9. suit — clothes
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. wind — moving air
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. suit — to fit
  18. cell — in a prison

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