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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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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: kid · bear · pop · capital · pound · current · tube · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. pop — music
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. capital — a city
  5. pop — soda
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. tube — a container
  8. bear — the animal
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. current — electric
  12. pop — to visit
  13. current — of water
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. drill — a practice
  16. capital — money
  17. kid — child
  18. tube — the underground
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bear — the animal
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pound — a weight
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. current — happening now

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