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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: mate · fine · capital · bark · scale · spell · wax · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. capital — money
  3. bark — to shout
  4. mate — a partner
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fine — high quality
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. spell — magic
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pound — a weight
  13. mate — a friend
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. wax — to grow
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — in music
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. spell — letters
  23. capital — a city
  24. mate — to breed

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