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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 116 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 · file · shower · mate · saw · mine · pound · band

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. file — a line of people
  4. mine — for digging
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. saw — the tool
  9. file — a document
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. band — a music group
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mate — to breed
  15. band — a ring
  16. shower — rain
  17. file — a tool
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. field — for sport
  22. shower — to wash
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — a friend

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