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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: board · stand · shower · capital · fork · spell · degree · plane

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. board — to get on
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. board — a committee
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. spell — a short time
  9. plane — a tool
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. shower — to wash
  12. degree — from a university
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. capital — money
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. shower — rain
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. degree — an amount
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. degree — temperature
  24. plane — an aircraft

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