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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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Word bank
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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: last · pop · band · bay · capital · toast · wound · firm

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pop — soda
  3. capital — a city
  4. firm — a company
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. band — a ring
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. capital — money
  11. firm — decided
  12. wound — an injury
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. band — a music group
  15. last — to go on
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pop — to visit
  19. toast — bread
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. firm — steady
  23. pop — music
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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