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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: wound · capital · bear · pound · squash · bound · spring · band

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. spring — the season
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. spring — of water
  5. squash — to crush
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bear — the animal
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bound — certain
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. capital — money
  19. wound — an injury
  20. band — a ring
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. band — a music group

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