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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 120 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: track · mine · capital · content · band · face · fan · perch

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — part of the head
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. content — happy
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. band — a ring
  11. face — to confront
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. track — a song
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. track — to keep track
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mine — for digging
  19. perch — the fish
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. band — a music group
  22. track — a path
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. content — the amount

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