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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: foot · band · cap · chest · wave · capital · march · fork

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cap — a lid
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — in a road
  6. march — the month
  7. cap — a hat
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. march — music
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. chest — a box
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. chest — of your body
  17. capital — money
  18. chest — of your body
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cap — of ice
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. foot — a measure
  24. wave — of the sea

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