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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 · cue · band · capital · sharp · toast · ground · pound

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. ground — a position
  3. wind — moving air
  4. capital — a city
  5. toast — bread
  6. cue — a hint
  7. band — a ring
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cue — a signal
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — a weight
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cue — for pool
  19. band — a music group
  20. capital — money
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. ground — the earth

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