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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: can · fan · clip · row · board · march · band · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. band — a ring
  3. board — a committee
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. march — the month
  8. lean — to bend
  9. can — a tin
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. clip — a video
  12. band — a music group
  13. row — a line
  14. march — music
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. march — the month
  20. board — to get on
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. row — to paddle
  24. lean — thin

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