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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: last · coach · rush · pound · field · net · cap · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cap — of ice
  3. net — in sport
  4. last — finally
  5. net — after costs
  6. cap — a hat
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cap — a lid
  9. field — a subject
  10. rush — hurry
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pop — to visit
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. last — final
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. last — to go on
  19. pop — soda
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. net — for catching
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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