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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: sharp · swing · plane · fan · capital · hand · chair · board

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. board — to get on
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. chair — a leader
  6. board — a committee
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. swing — music
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. hand — help
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. plane — a tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. sharp — clever
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. plane — in geometry

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