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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: board · cap · capital · fork · court · date · game · bound

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. court — of a king
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — tied together
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bound — obliged
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cap — a lid
  11. board — to get on
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. game — a match
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cap — of ice
  17. court — of law
  18. cap — a hat
  19. date — the fruit
  20. court — for sport
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. game — a kind of play

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