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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 · lie · field · chip · can · saw · row · game

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. can — to be able to
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. can — a tin
  8. pound — a weight
  9. row — a line
  10. can — a tin
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. chip — to eat
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. saw — the tool
  19. row — to paddle
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. field — a subject
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. saw — the tool

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