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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: clip · swing · arm · march · plane · fan · fork · chest

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. swing — to play on
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. swing — music
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. plane — a tool
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. march — the month
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. clip — a video
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. march — the month
  15. swing — in golf
  16. chest — of your body
  17. clip — for paper
  18. march — music
  19. chest — of your body
  20. clip — to cut
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fan — a supporter

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