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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: rock · fall · spell · pound · capital · fork · bowl · scale

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. capital — money
  4. scale — in music
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. spell — a short time
  8. fall — the season
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. pound — a weight
  15. fork — in a road
  16. spell — letters
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spell — magic
  20. capital — a city
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. fall — to drop
  23. scale — size or range
  24. rock — a stone

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