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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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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: pound · cue · craft · wind · capital · pit · bound · kid

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. capital — money
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pit — a hole
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bound — certain
  7. kid — child
  8. craft — boats
  9. bound — tied together
  10. craft — a skill
  11. capital — a city
  12. cue — a signal
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. cue — for pool
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cue — a hint
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bound — obliged
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. wind — moving air
  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