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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mark — a trace
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. pound — a weight
  6. club — for dancing
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. net — after costs
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for golf
  12. row — a line
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — in sport
  15. rush — hurry
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. mark — a grade
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rush — to hurry

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