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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: fan · chair · pound · pitch · hand · rest · trunk · clip

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rest — what's left
  5. hand — help
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. clip — a video
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. rest — a break
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. pound — a weight
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. hand — in cards
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. chair — a leader

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