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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.

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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: field · capital · band · bank · board · season · deal · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. band — a ring
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. season — of the year
  8. board — a committee
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. board — to get on
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. capital — money
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. season — in sport
  17. bank — of a river
  18. capital — a city
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. band — a music group
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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