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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · band · mine · wake · season · deal · march

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. mine — for digging
  7. deal — to handle
  8. march — music
  9. pound — a weight
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. band — a ring
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. season — of the year
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. season — in sport
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. band — a music group
  24. field — a subject

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