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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: foot · kid · mate · capital · bulb · pound · roll · rock

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. bulb — for light
  3. roll — a cake
  4. rock — a stone
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pound — a weight
  9. roll — a list
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. mate — to breed
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rock — music
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — a measure
  17. bulb — for light
  18. capital — money
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. kid — child
  21. capital — a city
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. mate — a partner

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