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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. wound — an injury
  3. capital — a city
  4. board — to get on
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fall — the season
  8. stock — shares
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. hand — in cards
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. march — the month
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. stock — goods
  20. capital — money
  21. march — the month
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. march — music
  24. hand — help

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