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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: wind · field · roll · fall · net · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fall — the season
  4. net — for catching
  5. fall — to drop
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a cake
  8. net — after costs
  9. field — for sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. net — in sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. roll — a list
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit

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