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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: straw · pop · swing · capital · kid · board · roll · pound

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pound — a weight
  3. swing — music
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. roll — a list
  7. swing — to play on
  8. kid — child
  9. swing — in golf
  10. board — to get on
  11. kid — to tease
  12. board — a committee
  13. pop — to visit
  14. roll — a cake
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pop — music
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pop — soda

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