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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: lean · bass · rest · land · fan · band · bound · capital

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rest — a break
  3. band — a ring
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. land — to come down
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bound — certain
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bass — the fish
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. capital — a city
  14. bound — obliged
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. land — a country
  17. rest — what's left
  18. band — a music group
  19. capital — money
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bass — low music
  24. rest — what's left

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