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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: pound · wake · capital · scale · bound · shower · bass · foot

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. foot — a measure
  3. shower — rain
  4. capital — a city
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bound — obliged
  10. capital — money
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. scale — in music
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — certain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pound — a weight
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. foot — part of the body

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