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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: calf · craft · field · stock · board · chair · capital · degree

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. capital — a city
  3. degree — an amount
  4. board — a committee
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. degree — from a university
  8. craft — boats
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. field — for sport
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. degree — temperature
  14. craft — a skill
  15. field — a subject
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. field — farmland
  18. capital — money
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a leader
  22. board — to get on
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. stock — goods

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