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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: date · pop · race · bound · wound · capital · pound · fork

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bound — certain
  3. race — the arms race
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bound — tied together
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. wound — an injury
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wound — an injury
  10. capital — a city
  11. race — a contest
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bound — obliged
  14. pop — soda
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pop — music
  17. capital — money
  18. pound — a weight
  19. fork — in a road
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. race — humankind

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