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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 120 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: board · face · nail · wind · clip · key · tear · hide

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. tear — to rip
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. wind — moving air
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. face — part of the head
  8. clip — to cut
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. key — for a lock
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wind — moving air
  16. board — a committee
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — to get on
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. key — in music
  22. tear — from crying
  23. key — the most important part
  24. tear — from crying

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