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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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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: capital · field · roll · bound · stock · board · fan · net

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. roll — a list
  3. net — in sport
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stock — shares
  7. bound — obliged
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — to get on
  10. net — after costs
  11. bound — tied together
  12. field — for sport
  13. capital — a city
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. net — for catching
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. bound — certain
  22. stock — goods
  23. capital — money
  24. fan — to cool the air

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