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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: bark · race · saw · field · dip · content · fine · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. race — humankind
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. race — the arms race
  11. content — happy
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. field — a subject
  16. fine — all right
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. race — a contest
  21. fine — high quality
  22. pound — a weight
  23. dip — to sink
  24. content — the amount

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