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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: capital · wind · pound · foot · cap · mate

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mate — a partner
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. capital — a city
  8. cap — of ice
  9. mate — to breed
  10. foot — a measure
  11. capital — money
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. cap — a lid
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pound — a weight
  18. mate — a friend

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