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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: deal · capital · mark · face · season · fan · mate · band

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. season — in sport
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. face — to confront
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. band — a music group
  8. deal — to handle
  9. face — to point toward
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mate — to breed
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. band — a ring
  20. capital — a city
  21. mark — a grade
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. face — part of the head
  24. season — of the year

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