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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: band · cabinet · pound · jam · kid · capital · squash · foot

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. capital — a city
  3. foot — a measure
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. band — a ring
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. kid — to tease
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pound — a weight
  15. kid — child
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. capital — money
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. band — a music group

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