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

Word bank: kid · pass · row · pound · capital · chest

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. capital — money
  3. chest — a box
  4. row — a line
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pass — a permit
  10. row — to paddle
  11. kid — child
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. kid — to tease
  14. chest — of your body
  15. capital — a city
  16. pound — a weight
  17. chest — of your body
  18. capital — a big letter

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