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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: spring · pass · cap · swing · wound · pound · bay · kid

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. kid — to tease
  4. swing — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spring — the season
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spring — of water
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. pass — a permit
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. kid — child
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — a weight
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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