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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: deal · pound · row · jam · field · file · branch · sharp

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. 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. pound — to hit hard
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. row — to paddle
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. deal — to handle
  7. field — farmland
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. field — for sport
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. sharp — clever
  17. file — a tool
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. file — a document
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pound — a weight
  23. row — a line
  24. 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