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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: firm · squash · bay · capital · board · band · field · jam

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. band — a ring
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. field — farmland
  5. squash — the sport
  6. board — to get on
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. band — a music group
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. squash — to crush
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. field — a subject
  16. capital — a city
  17. firm — steady
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. firm — a company
  20. firm — decided
  21. capital — money
  22. field — for sport
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. band — a rubber band

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