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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: fan · mine · tear · bear · capital · pitcher · board · rock

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rock — music
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — a stone
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. tear — to rip
  13. capital — a city
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bear — the animal
  22. mine — for digging
  23. capital — money
  24. board — a committee

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