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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: cold · root · board · bark · present · stock · capital · fall

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. root — of a word
  3. capital — money
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stock — goods
  6. present — the time now
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stock — shares
  11. present — there
  12. capital — a city
  13. root — of a plant
  14. board — to get on
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. bark — to shout
  21. root — the cause
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. present — a gift
  24. cold — not warm

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