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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: pound · field · mark · nail · bass · wax · present · cell

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bass — low music
  3. field — for sport
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. present — there
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. field — a subject
  9. present — a gift
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. cell — in biology
  12. mark — a trace
  13. field — farmland
  14. wax — to grow
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. mark — a grade
  17. pound — a weight
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. present — the time now
  23. bass — the fish
  24. pound — for dogs

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