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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.

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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: cabinet · current · capital · mine · tube · band · face · fan

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. capital — a city
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. tube — a container
  6. current — happening now
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mine — for digging
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — part of the head
  11. capital — money
  12. face — to confront
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. current — electric
  16. current — of water
  17. tube — the underground
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. band — a ring
  24. mine — belonging to me

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