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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: cue · bulb · capital · band · squash · field · kick · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. bulb — for light
  3. capital — money
  4. cue — for pool
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. capital — a city
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. band — a music group
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. field — for sport
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. field — a subject
  18. kick — in football
  19. bulb — for light
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — a hint
  23. field — farmland
  24. band — a ring

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