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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: swing · mine · ball · mark · lean · capital · wake · pound

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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. wake — before a funeral
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. swing — to play on
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. mine — for digging
  8. ball — a great time
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wake — a trail
  14. lean — to bend
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mark — a grade
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. capital — a city
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mine — an explosive
  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