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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: foot · capital · band · tube · wind · mouse · sharp · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wind — moving air
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. capital — money
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. tube — a container
  11. wind — moving air
  12. foot — a measure
  13. band — a music group
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. tube — the underground
  16. kick — in football
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. sharp — clever
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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