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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. season — of the year
  3. drill — army training
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. board — to get on
  8. swing — music
  9. drill — a practice
  10. clip — for paper
  11. season — in sport
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wax — to grow
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. branch — a division
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. clip — a video
  22. board — a committee
  23. clip — to cut
  24. swing — in golf

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