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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: rest · fan · clip · plane · board · chest · hand · coach

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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. fan — a supporter
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rest — what's left
  6. clip — to cut
  7. plane — a tool
  8. rest — what's left
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. rest — a break
  14. hand — help
  15. board — to get on
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. clip — for paper
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. chest — a box
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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