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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 · bat · kick · board · field · stand · bass · ground

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. board — to get on
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bass — the fish
  10. ground — a position
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. board — a committee
  19. field — for sport
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bat — the animal
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. kick — in football

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