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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pound — a weight
  5. season — in sport
  6. spell — letters
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. capital — a city
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. wind — moving air
  12. foot — a measure
  13. season — of the year
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bark — to shout
  17. capital — money
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — music
  24. season — to add flavour

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