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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — a city
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. club — for dancing
  8. wind — moving air
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. board — to get on
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. bound — obliged
  14. club — for golf
  15. court — of law
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — certain
  20. capital — money
  21. club — a group
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. can — a tin

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