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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: racket · bound · capital · clip · swing · pound · drill · root

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. root — the cause
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. drill — the tool
  5. capital — money
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bound — tied together
  10. root — of a word
  11. pound — a weight
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. root — of a plant
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bound — obliged
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. capital — a city
  21. clip — for paper
  22. swing — music
  23. bound — certain
  24. clip — a video

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