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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 120 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 · stand · kick · trunk · leaves · rest · clip · branch

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. clip — for paper
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. clip — a video
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rest — what's left
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. rest — what's left
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. rest — a break
  21. kick — in football
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. stand — to bear
  24. leaves — to go away

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