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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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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: capital · wind · board · pound · file · pop · shower · bore

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. bore — to tire
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — music
  6. file — a document
  7. capital — money
  8. board — a committee
  9. capital — a city
  10. pop — soda
  11. bore — to drill
  12. shower — rain
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. file — a tool
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. wind — moving air
  19. file — a line of people
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wind — moving air
  24. board — to get on

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