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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. file — a tool
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pound — a weight
  8. present — there
  9. present — the time now
  10. file — a line of people
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. file — a document
  13. present — a gift
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. capital — money
  18. toast — bread
  19. bound — tied together
  20. clip — for paper
  21. ball — a dance
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. capital — a city
  24. ball — a great time

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