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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: drill · field · chest · swing · clip · lash · fan · board

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. swing — in golf
  4. board — a committee
  5. chest — of your body
  6. field — a subject
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. chest — a box
  9. drill — the tool
  10. field — farmland
  11. swing — to play on
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. swing — music
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. field — for sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. chest — of your body
  20. clip — to cut
  21. board — to get on
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. clip — for paper

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