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

Word bank: clip · mate · nail · wind · board · wake · wax · cell

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. mate — a friend
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. board — to get on
  16. mate — to breed
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. clip — a video
  20. wake — a trail
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mate — a partner
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. wind — to turn a key

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