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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. hand — help
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pound — a weight
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. capital — money
  15. pass — a permit
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. swing — music
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — in golf
  24. capital — a city

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