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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: wind · capital · drill · bulb · bowl · mug · bank · pound

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bank — of a river
  4. mug — a face
  5. mug — a cup
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bank — for money
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bulb — for light
  17. drill — army training
  18. pound — a weight
  19. drill — the tool
  20. capital — money
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. mug — to rob
  24. bank — for money

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