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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: wind · pound · ground · band · jam · march · cap · toast

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. band — a ring
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — of ice
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pound — a weight
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. ground — a position
  12. march — the month
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. march — music
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — moving air
  20. toast — bread
  21. ground — crushed
  22. band — a music group
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cap — a lid

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