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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: band · capital · face · bulb · tear · spell · rock · chip

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bulb — for light
  3. rock — music
  4. chip — to eat
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. spell — magic
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. face — part of the head
  9. spell — a short time
  10. capital — money
  11. rock — a stone
  12. capital — a city
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. tear — to rip
  15. face — to point toward
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — for betting
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. band — a ring
  21. tear — from crying
  22. face — to confront
  23. spell — letters
  24. bulb — for light

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