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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: bat · fan · board · firm · capital · march · prune · bound

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. bound — obliged
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a city
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. firm — a company
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. prune — to trim
  13. firm — steady
  14. bound — certain
  15. firm — decided
  16. board — a committee
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bat — the animal
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. board — to get on
  23. march — the month
  24. fan — to cool the air

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