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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: field · lean · mate · roll · pound · capital · arm · net

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. roll — a cake
  3. lean — to bend
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. field — for sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. capital — a city
  9. mate — to breed
  10. lean — thin
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. capital — money
  13. mate — a friend
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mate — a partner
  17. net — for catching
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. roll — a list
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. field — farmland
  23. net — in sport
  24. field — a subject

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