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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 120 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: board · bound · mine · spell · face · kick · capital · patient

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. capital — a city
  4. spell — letters
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. board — a committee
  10. spell — a short time
  11. kick — in football
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. capital — money
  14. mine — for digging
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. face — to confront
  19. bound — certain
  20. face — part of the head
  21. spell — magic
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. bound — obliged
  24. face — to point toward

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