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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: deal · pound · bound · capital · clip · snap · rest · track

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. bound — certain
  4. track — to keep track
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. rest — what's left
  8. capital — money
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. clip — a video
  11. bound — tied together
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. clip — to cut
  14. deal — to handle
  15. rest — what's left
  16. clip — for paper
  17. track — a song
  18. rest — a break
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bound — obliged
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. snap — to click
  23. pound — a weight
  24. track — a path

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