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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tube · mine · season · last · field · pound · march · pitcher

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. last — to go on
  3. season — of the year
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. last — finally
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. last — final
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. field — farmland
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — for digging
  21. tube — a container
  22. season — in sport
  23. march — music
  24. pitcher — a jug

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