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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 116 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 · fan · kick · capital · bore · field · rash · stock

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. capital — money
  4. rash — a series
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. field — farmland
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. field — for sport
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bore — to drill
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stock — shares
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. capital — a city
  18. stock — goods
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. field — a subject
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bore — to tire
  24. rash — on the skin

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