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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · wound · staff · fan · row · clip · drill · cap

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. wound — an injury
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. drill — a practice
  11. staff — employees
  12. drill — the tool
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. chair — a leader
  15. drill — army training
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. cap — a hat
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — a video
  24. staff — a stick

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