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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 · bulb · mark · ground · squash · pound · kid · arm

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. squash — the vegetable
  2. kid — to tease
  3. ground — a position
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — a weight
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. mark — a grade
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. field — for sport
  10. ground — crushed
  11. kid — child
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. mark — a trace
  17. squash — the sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. bulb — for light
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. squash — to crush
  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