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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: degree · swing · capital · pound · safe · wake · tube · wound

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. degree — from a university
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. swing — music
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pound — a weight
  9. tube — a container
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. wound — an injury
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. swing — to play on
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — a city
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pound — to hit hard

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