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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
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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: board · fan · stock · land · wake · mine · spell · bark

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. board — a committee
  3. spell — letters
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. stock — goods
  6. spell — magic
  7. bark — to shout
  8. stock — shares
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. land — ground
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. board — to get on
  13. land — a country
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. land — to come down
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. spell — a short time
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wake — a trail

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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