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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: mate · spring · band · bowl · fan · land · capital · game

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. spring — the season
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. capital — money
  6. land — to come down
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. mate — a friend
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a match
  12. capital — a city
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. spring — of water
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. spring — a coil

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