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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. board — to get on
  3. stock — goods
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. stock — shares
  6. field — a subject
  7. capital — money
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wound — an injury
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. plane — a tool
  14. board — a committee
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. wound — an injury
  17. capital — a city
  18. board — a flat piece

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