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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: pound · land · foot · mate · branch · bound · field · pitcher

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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. foot — the bottom
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. pound — a weight
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. foot — a measure
  8. field — for sport
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mate — a friend
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bound — obliged
  19. land — ground
  20. bound — certain
  21. field — farmland
  22. branch — a division
  23. bound — tied together
  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