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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: jam · hide · chest · leaves · fall · clip · rock · board

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. board — a committee
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. rock — music
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chest — of your body
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. board — to get on
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. fall — to drop
  16. clip — a video
  17. chest — a box
  18. fall — the season
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rock — a stone
  22. chest — of your body
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. clip — for paper

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