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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: capital · spring · wound · kid · mate · pound · stick · perch

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. capital — money
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. spring — the season
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wound — an injury
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. mate — a partner
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. mate — a friend
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — a weight
  22. kid — child
  23. mate — to breed
  24. spring — of water

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