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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: fork · march · pound · clip · saw · capital · bark · calf

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bark — to shout
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pound — a weight
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. clip — to cut
  16. march — music
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. clip — for paper
  19. capital — a city
  20. clip — a video
  21. saw — the tool
  22. march — the month
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. march — the month

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