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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 120 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: pound · wind · rash · bound · pop · track · capital · mark

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rash — a series
  3. track — a path
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mark — a trace
  6. bound — tied together
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. track — a song
  10. track — to keep track
  11. capital — money
  12. mark — a grade
  13. rash — hasty
  14. capital — a city
  15. pop — music
  16. bound — certain
  17. pop — soda
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. bound — obliged
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pound — to hit hard

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