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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: club · pound · stock · field · tear · coach

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. field — for sport
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. tear — from crying
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. field — farmland
  9. stock — shares
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — a group
  12. stock — goods
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pound — a weight
  16. field — a subject
  17. club — for golf
  18. tear — to rip

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