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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: nail · snap · season · clip · cold · wax · board · face

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. face — part of the head
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. face — to point toward
  5. cold — an illness
  6. clip — a video
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cold — not warm
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wax — to grow
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. board — a committee
  14. snap — to click
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. season — in sport
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. face — to confront
  22. board — to get on
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. season — of the year

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