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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pound · bass · pitcher · capital · present · prune · rock · plane

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. capital — a city
  3. rock — music
  4. capital — money
  5. present — there
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. prune — to trim
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bass — the fish
  21. plane — a tool
  22. present — the time now
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. pound — a weight

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