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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bound — tied together
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bound — obliged
  5. branch — a division
  6. march — music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. march — the month
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. board — to get on
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. march — the month
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bound — certain
  23. foot — a measure
  24. patient — a sick person

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