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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
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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: net · stand · present · band · fan · mine · capital · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. band — a music group
  4. present — the time now
  5. net — in sport
  6. present — a gift
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. spring — of water
  9. capital — a city
  10. mine — for digging
  11. net — after costs
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. spring — the season
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. present — there
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — to bear
  21. net — for catching
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. band — a ring

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