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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.

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: ball · lean · face · rest · straw · capital · band · pop

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. face — to confront
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a dance
  8. lean — to bend
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rest — a break
  11. face — part of the head
  12. rest — what's left
  13. face — to point toward
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. band — a music group
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. pop — to visit
  22. ball — a great time
  23. rest — what's left
  24. band — a rubber band

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