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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 116 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: pound · capital · straw · ball · land · last · wind · row

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. land — a country
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. ball — a great time
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — finally
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. land — to come down
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. capital — a city
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. last — to go on
  14. row — to paddle
  15. land — ground
  16. capital — money
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. ball — a dance
  21. row — a line
  22. last — final
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. wind — moving air

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