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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: mark · pound · swing · shower · chest · cap · current · field

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. chest — of your body
  4. current — happening now
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — a hat
  9. field — farmland
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mark — a grade
  12. shower — to wash
  13. chest — a box
  14. swing — music
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. field — for sport
  17. shower — rain
  18. swing — in golf
  19. current — of water
  20. mark — a trace
  21. current — electric
  22. pound — a weight
  23. field — a subject
  24. chest — of your body

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