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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: current · pop · capital · bat · pound · foot · mine · stand

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pop — to visit
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. current — happening now
  6. pound — a weight
  7. foot — a measure
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pop — soda
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. current — of water
  16. current — electric
  17. pop — music
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bat — the animal
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. stand — to bear

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