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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 · bore · row · cell · scale · pound · racket · rush

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to drill
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cell — in biology
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bore — to tire
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. field — a subject
  15. scale — in music
  16. row — to paddle
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pound — a weight
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. row — a line
  24. field — for sport

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