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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: board · wax · mark · scale · clip · firm · snap · season

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. firm — decided
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. scale — in music
  6. board — a committee
  7. firm — a company
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. snap — to click
  10. clip — to cut
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. season — in sport
  16. mark — a grade
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. season — of the year
  20. board — to get on
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. wax — to grow
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. mark — a trace

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