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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 120 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: ground · swing · file · capital · bay · kick · pound · wake

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. swing — to play on
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a tool
  5. swing — music
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. capital — a city
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. file — a line of people
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. ground — crushed
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. capital — money
  24. pound — a weight

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