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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: capital · content · foot · fan · firm · cold · pound · dip

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. foot — a measure
  3. firm — steady
  4. capital — a city
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cold — an illness
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. content — happy
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. content — the amount
  21. capital — money
  22. firm — decided
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. firm — a company

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