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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: trunk · fan · plane · chair · season · file · cap · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. season — of the year
  4. cap — a hat
  5. season — in sport
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. chair — a leader
  8. file — a tool
  9. board — to get on
  10. file — a document
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cap — of ice
  13. board — a committee
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. file — a line of people
  17. plane — a tool
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cap — a lid
  24. chair — a professorship

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