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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  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. face — part of the head
  2. clip — to cut
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — to get on
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. clip — a video
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. saw — the tool
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. face — to point toward
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tear — to rip
  18. face — to confront
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fall — the season
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  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