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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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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: vault · roll · pound · bulb · wound · wind · content · field

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. wind — moving air
  3. roll — a list
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wound — an injury
  6. content — the amount
  7. field — farmland
  8. vault — a safe
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. field — for sport
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wind — moving air
  15. roll — a cake
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. wound — an injury
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. content — happy
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. field — a subject
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. wind — to turn a key

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