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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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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: fan · cap · content · band · race · bay · capital · track

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. band — a ring
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. capital — money
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. track — a path
  10. cap — of ice
  11. race — a contest
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. track — a song
  15. cap — a lid
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. race — humankind
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. capital — a city
  24. race — the arms race

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