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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 · pop · stand · pound · tear · scale · bulb · ball

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pop — to visit
  4. ball — a great time
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. stand — to bear
  7. field — farmland
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pop — soda
  12. ball — a dance
  13. field — for sport
  14. scale — in music
  15. pound — a weight
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pop — music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. bulb — for light
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. scale — size or range

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