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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: pop · season · field · pound · jam · squash · net · stem

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. field — for sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pound — a weight
  5. squash — to crush
  6. pop — soda
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. field — farmland
  9. season — of the year
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pop — music
  13. stem — to come from
  14. net — in sport
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. net — after costs
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. season — in sport
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. field — a subject
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. net — for catching

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