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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fine · wind · pitcher · branch · board · lean · chip · clip

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. lean — thin
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. clip — a video
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. chip — for betting
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. fine — high quality
  17. branch — a division
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wind — moving air
  20. board — to get on
  21. wind — moving air
  22. clip — to cut
  23. chip — to eat
  24. fine — all right

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