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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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Word bank
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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 · scale · trunk · mate · pound · capital

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wind — moving air
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a city
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — a friend
  13. scale — in music
  14. pound — a weight
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. wind — moving air
  18. trunk — of a car

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