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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pop · dip · toast · last · band · kid · can · capital

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. last — finally
  5. pop — to visit
  6. band — a ring
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. band — a music group
  11. can — to be able to
  12. capital — a city
  13. last — to go on
  14. kid — child
  15. dip — to sink
  16. capital — money
  17. toast — bread
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. can — a tin
  21. last — final
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. can — a tin
  24. dip — a sauce

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