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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: capital · pop · straw · rock · fork · cap · wind · foot

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — money
  3. cap — of ice
  4. pop — soda
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rock — a stone
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pop — music
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. foot — a measure
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rock — music
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. cap — a hat
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. fork — in a road
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. pop — to visit
  23. capital — a city
  24. cap — a lid

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