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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: face · land · capital · board · branch · calf · band · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. land — a country
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. band — a music group
  6. land — to come down
  7. capital — a city
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. face — to confront
  12. capital — money
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. band — a ring
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. land — ground
  17. face — to point toward
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. tear — from crying
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. face — part of the head
  22. tear — from crying
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. branch — a division

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