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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 · face · club · wind · firm · capital

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. wind — moving air
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. band — a music group
  8. face — to confront
  9. club — for dancing
  10. capital — money
  11. firm — decided
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. club — a group
  15. firm — steady
  16. club — for golf
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head

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