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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: file · nail · spring · field · bass · pound

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a document
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bass — low music
  5. file — a tool
  6. field — a subject
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bass — the fish
  10. field — for sport
  11. spring — of water
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pound — a weight
  14. field — farmland
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. bass — the instrument

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