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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 120 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: cabinet · fan · face · band · capital · drill · game · hide

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. drill — the tool
  3. capital — money
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. band — a ring
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. capital — a city
  10. game — a match
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. drill — army training
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. game — wild animals
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — to confront
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a music group
  22. drill — a practice
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. hide — to keep secret

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