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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: band · pound · field · snap · can · capital · fork · fan

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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. capital — a city
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. capital — money
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. field — for sport
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. can — to be able to
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. band — a music group
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. can — a tin
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. field — farmland
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. snap — to click
  19. pound — a weight
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. can — a tin
  22. field — a subject
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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