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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: content · mate · pound · field · bear · wave · rock · cold

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  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. mate — to breed
  2. field — for sport
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. content — the amount
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. field — a subject
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. content — happy
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. field — farmland
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. mate — a friend
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — music
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rock — to move gently
  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