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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: stock · net · root · kick · field · band · toast · pound

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  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. toast — bread
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. net — for catching
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. root — the cause
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. pound — a weight
  12. net — after costs
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. field — for sport
  15. kick — in football
  16. root — of a word
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. stock — goods
  19. field — farmland
  20. stock — shares
  21. root — of a plant
  22. toast — the most admired
  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