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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: court · wound · tube · pound · capital · rush · chest · fork

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. court — of a king
  6. capital — a city
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. tube — the underground
  10. court — of law
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. tube — a container
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fork — in a road
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — money
  22. chest — a box
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. court — for sport

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