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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 120 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: pound · ground · craft · field · tear · object

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. object — to protest
  5. field — for sport
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. ground — the earth
  8. object — a thing
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. object — an aim
  12. field — farmland
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — crushed
  15. tear — from crying
  16. craft — a skill
  17. pound — a weight
  18. field — a subject

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