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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: capital · pound · straw · perch · fall · mark · ball · wound

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. perch — the fish
  3. mark — a trace
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. fall — to drop
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pound — a weight
  10. capital — money
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mark — a grade
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. fall — the season
  22. capital — a city
  23. ball — a dance
  24. fall — to drop

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