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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — to get on
  3. roll — a cake
  4. field — for sport
  5. roll — a list
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — tied together
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. capital — a city
  11. stock — shares
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. capital — money
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bound — obliged
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. stock — goods

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