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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · capital · field · bear · band · wound · track · net

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. field — a subject
  3. bear — the animal
  4. capital — money
  5. field — farmland
  6. net — after costs
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. wound — an injury
  10. capital — a city
  11. track — a song
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. net — in sport
  14. field — for sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. track — a path
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pound — a weight

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