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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: bore · scale · pound · band · ground · saw · mine · can

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. ground — crushed
  6. can — to be able to
  7. saw — the tool
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bore — to drill
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. can — a tin
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. can — a tin
  17. ground — the earth
  18. scale — in music
  19. pound — a weight
  20. saw — the tool
  21. scale — size or range
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bore — to tire

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