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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: sharp · scale · drill · content · pound · field · last · wave

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  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. pound — for dogs
  2. scale — in music
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. drill — army training
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. last — to go on
  7. content — the amount
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. sharp — clever
  11. drill — the tool
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. field — a subject
  14. last — final
  15. field — farmland
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. last — finally
  18. drill — a practice
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. pound — a weight
  22. scale — size or range
  23. content — happy
  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