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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. face — part of the head
  3. capital — money
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — obliged
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — a law
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. face — to confront
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. board — to get on
  12. bound — tied together
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. fork — in a road
  15. capital — a city
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. land — a country
  21. board — a committee
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. face — to point toward

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