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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: lean · wind · fan · last · clip · craft · board · tear

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. clip — a video
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. wind — moving air
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. tear — to rip
  10. craft — boats
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. last — to go on
  14. tear — from crying
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. lean — to bend
  17. last — finally
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. last — final
  21. craft — a skill
  22. board — to get on
  23. lean — thin
  24. tear — from crying

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