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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: face · capital · board · band · bass · tube · present · field

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. capital — money
  4. face — part of the head
  5. field — a subject
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. field — farmland
  9. board — a committee
  10. tube — a container
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. present — the time now
  13. face — to confront
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. present — there
  17. field — for sport
  18. capital — a city
  19. board — to get on
  20. tube — the underground
  21. band — a ring
  22. present — a gift
  23. bass — low music
  24. tube — in a tire

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