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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 · face · season · straw · degree · board · clip · march

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. degree — temperature
  3. face — to point toward
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. march — the month
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. march — the month
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. face — part of the head
  12. clip — for paper
  13. degree — from a university
  14. board — a committee
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. face — to confront
  18. board — to get on
  19. clip — a video
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — in sport
  22. degree — an amount
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. march — music

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