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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. club — for golf
  3. pound — a weight
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. squash — to crush
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. capital — money
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bound — obliged
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bound — certain
  17. club — for dancing
  18. squash — the sport
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. wind — moving air
  24. club — a group

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