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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: kick · capital · scale · kid · pound · firm

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. firm — a company
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pound — a weight
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kid — child
  9. firm — decided
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. capital — money
  12. scale — in music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. firm — steady
  16. capital — a city
  17. scale — size or range
  18. kick — in football

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