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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: mate · key · hand · clip · capital · bass · kid · pound

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. key — the most important part
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. capital — money
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. mate — a friend
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bass — the fish
  11. clip — a video
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. key — for a lock
  16. capital — a city
  17. key — in music
  18. mate — to breed
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. kid — child
  21. bass — low music
  22. mate — a partner
  23. hand — help
  24. kid — to tease

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