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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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Word bank
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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: cap · mine · band · kick · ball · capital · straw · last

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. mine — for digging
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. band — a music group
  9. ball — a great time
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. last — to go on
  12. cap — of ice
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. cap — a hat
  15. last — final
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. band — a ring
  19. capital — money
  20. cap — a lid
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. ball — a dance
  23. kick — in football
  24. last — finally

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