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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 · field · ground · can · last · prune · kid · bay

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pound — a weight
  4. last — final
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. last — finally
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. can — a tin
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. last — to go on
  15. field — for sport
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. kid — child
  20. prune — to trim
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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