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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: pound · firm · tube · wound · fan · key · field · bat

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. firm — a company
  3. field — farmland
  4. tube — a container
  5. key — in music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tube — the underground
  9. firm — decided
  10. bat — the animal
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. key — for a lock
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. firm — steady
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. field — for sport
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. key — the most important part
  24. fan — a supporter

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