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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: fork · chest · branch · clip · jam · swing · board · roll

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. swing — music
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. chest — of your body
  7. branch — a division
  8. roll — a list
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chest — a box
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. clip — to cut
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. roll — a cake
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. clip — for paper
  20. board — to get on
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. clip — a video
  24. swing — to play on

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