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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 120 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: row · ground · field · face · fan · wound · pound · drill

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. field — for sport
  4. face — to confront
  5. drill — a practice
  6. ground — a position
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — a weight
  10. field — farmland
  11. drill — the tool
  12. field — a subject
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wound — an injury
  15. face — part of the head
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. ground — the earth
  21. face — to point toward
  22. drill — army training
  23. ground — crushed
  24. row — a line

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