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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 · capital · band · chest · deal · toast

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. band — a music group
  4. toast — bread
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. deal — to handle
  9. capital — a city
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. capital — money
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. chest — of your body
  18. toast — the most admired

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