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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.

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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: march · field · bass · club · capital · fan · face · rule

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — a subject
  3. bass — the fish
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. march — the month
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — government
  9. field — farmland
  10. club — a group
  11. capital — a city
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. march — music
  14. face — part of the head
  15. capital — money
  16. field — for sport
  17. club — for dancing
  18. face — to confront
  19. bass — low music
  20. face — to point toward
  21. club — for golf
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fan — a supporter

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