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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: toast · row · capital · band · chair · fall · kid · fine

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. chair — a leader
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. band — a music group
  5. fine — high quality
  6. capital — a city
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. kid — child
  9. band — a ring
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. capital — money
  12. fall — the season
  13. kid — to tease
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. fall — to drop
  17. row — a line
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. toast — bread
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fine — all right
  23. fall — to drop
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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