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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: wind · band · root · capital · stick · pitcher · toast · rest

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rest — what's left
  4. toast — bread
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. capital — a city
  8. band — a music group
  9. capital — money
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. band — a ring
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wind — moving air
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wind — moving air
  20. root — the cause
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. rest — a break
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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