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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 120 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. capital — a city
  4. pound — a weight
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. drill — the tool
  9. clip — a video
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bark — to shout
  13. deal — to handle
  14. capital — money
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. drill — army training
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. drill — a practice
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. clip — to cut
  24. safe — out of danger

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