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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: net · pound · field · shower · chest · wake · saw · board

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. chest — of your body
  4. board — to get on
  5. saw — the tool
  6. shower — rain
  7. board — a committee
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. net — for catching
  10. field — for sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. net — in sport
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. pound — a weight
  17. field — a subject
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. shower — to wash
  20. chest — a box
  21. field — farmland
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. wake — a trail
  24. pound — to hit hard

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