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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: board · wind · clip · plane · arm · capital · rock · cabinet

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. board — a committee
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. wind — moving air
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. clip — a video
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. board — to get on
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. clip — to cut
  14. capital — a city
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. plane — a tool
  17. capital — money
  18. wind — moving air
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. rock — a stone
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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