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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: cell · file · ground · racket · mark · pound · field · roll

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. ground — crushed
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. ground — a position
  6. cell — in biology
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. field — a subject
  9. cell — a phone
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. mark — a grade
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. roll — a cake
  15. field — for sport
  16. pound — a weight
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. file — a document
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. field — farmland
  24. roll — a list

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