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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: field · face · game · band · chip · bear · capital · race

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bear — the animal
  4. capital — a city
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — to confront
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. capital — money
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chip — for betting
  12. band — a ring
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. race — humankind
  16. band — a music group
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. game — wild animals
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. face — part of the head
  23. field — for sport
  24. game — a match

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