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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: clip · cue · nail · chest · wax · season · pitch · wind

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cue — for pool
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wind — moving air
  12. season — of the year
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. pitch — completely
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. chest — a box
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. clip — a video
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — a hint
  23. wind — moving air
  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