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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · club · capital · lash · pound · wake

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. capital — money
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. club — a group
  6. pound — a weight
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. wake — a trail
  14. capital — a city
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. club — for dancing
  18. club — for golf

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