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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: patient · fork · pop · capital · ground · pound · spell · swing

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. spell — letters
  7. capital — money
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pop — music
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. spell — magic
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pop — to visit
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. capital — a city
  21. swing — to play on
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — for dogs

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