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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. capital — money
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. face — part of the head
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. capital — a city
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. band — a music group
  17. face — to confront
  18. band — a ring

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