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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 120 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: club · file · bound · fall · pound · mine · cap · ground

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bound — certain
  4. file — a document
  5. club — for golf
  6. ground — a position
  7. fall — to drop
  8. club — a group
  9. ground — the earth
  10. file — a tool
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. mine — for digging
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. club — for dancing
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pound — a weight
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. cap — a lid
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. pound — for dogs

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