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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: coach · temple · tear · field · board · pound · net · capital

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. board — a committee
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. net — for catching
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. field — for sport
  12. capital — a city
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. net — in sport
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. tear — from crying
  17. net — after costs
  18. field — a subject
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. field — farmland
  24. capital — money

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