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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: wind · mate · bound · capital · squash · pop · sharp · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. pop — to visit
  3. mate — a partner
  4. squash — the sport
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bound — obliged
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. squash — to crush
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wind — moving air
  14. sharp — clever
  15. pop — soda
  16. capital — money
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bound — certain
  19. capital — a city
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a friend
  22. pop — music
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. wind — to turn a key

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