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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: pound · bay · wound · hide · clip · degree · stand · capital

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wound — an injury
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. stand — to bear
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — on your feet

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