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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: face · sharp · capital · racket · board · field · land · bank

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bank — for money
  3. capital — money
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. land — to come down
  6. face — to confront
  7. field — a subject
  8. face — part of the head
  9. board — to get on
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. land — ground
  14. board — a committee
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. face — to point toward
  17. capital — a city
  18. field — farmland
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. land — a country
  24. field — for sport

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