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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · face · mine · rule · band · capital · bear · march

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. face — to confront
  3. bear — the animal
  4. lean — thin
  5. march — the month
  6. band — a ring
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bear — the animal
  10. band — a music group
  11. lean — to bend
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. rule — a law
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — for digging
  16. face — part of the head
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. face — to point toward
  19. rule — government
  20. capital — a city
  21. march — the month
  22. capital — money
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. march — music

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