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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: band · capital · sharp · row · pound · pit · bear · last

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. pound — to hit hard
  2. band — a ring
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bear — the animal
  8. capital — a city
  9. pit — in a race
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. last — finally
  12. bear — the animal
  13. band — a music group
  14. pit — a hole
  15. capital — money
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. sharp — clever
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. band — a rubber band
  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