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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: rest · prune · current · bay · pound · capital · ball · clip

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. ball — a dance
  3. current — happening now
  4. rest — a break
  5. clip — for paper
  6. ball — a great time
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — a weight
  16. current — of water
  17. capital — money
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. rest — what's left
  20. prune — to trim
  21. clip — a video
  22. current — electric
  23. capital — a city
  24. clip — to cut

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