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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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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: bay · race · bark · content · pound · patient · bass · field

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. field — farmland
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. content — happy
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. field — a subject
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. content — the amount
  15. race — humankind
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. race — the arms race
  18. field — for sport
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. race — a contest
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bass — low music
  24. pound — a weight

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