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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: hand · cell · squash · fine · capital · pound · toast · key

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cell — a phone
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. key — for a lock
  7. toast — bread
  8. pound — a weight
  9. key — in music
  10. capital — a city
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. fine — all right
  13. hand — help
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. cell — in biology
  18. key — the most important part
  19. squash — to crush
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. squash — the sport
  24. fine — high quality

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