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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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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: pound · rush · lean · capital · chair · fork · march · wake

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. lean — to bend
  3. march — the month
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. capital — a city
  6. march — music
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. march — the month
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wake — a trail
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. lean — thin
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. rush — hurry

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