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

Word bank: racket · wind · board · cell · stock · capital · bound · fall

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — a city
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bound — tied together
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. stock — goods
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — shares
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. fall — the season
  20. capital — money
  21. bound — certain
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wind — moving 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