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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: fan · drill · pound · chest · saw · calf · pitcher · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. drill — army training
  3. chest — of your body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. field — farmland
  7. chest — a box
  8. drill — the tool
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. field — a subject
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chest — of your body
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. drill — a practice
  20. pound — a weight
  21. saw — the tool
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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