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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: bulb · bat · mate · fine · capital · stand · land · board

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. board — a committee
  3. mate — a friend
  4. fine — all right
  5. board — to get on
  6. capital — money
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bulb — for light
  9. fine — high quality
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. land — to come down
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. capital — a city
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. mate — a partner
  22. land — a country
  23. mate — to breed
  24. board — a flat piece

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