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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: mine · field · wax · bat · pitch · pound · pop · bound

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bound — tied together
  3. pop — music
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bound — certain
  9. pop — to visit
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bound — obliged
  12. field — farmland
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pop — soda
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. field — for sport

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