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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: fork · pound · capital · fan · track · wound · bear · face

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bear — the animal
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bear — the animal
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. face — to confront
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. capital — a city
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. fork — in a road
  16. track — a song
  17. capital — money
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. track — a path
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. track — to keep track
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pound — a weight
  24. fork — a garden tool

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