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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cold · face · board · drill · pitcher · wave · key

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. clip — to cut
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — in music
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. drill — army training
  8. clip — a video
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. drill — the tool
  11. board — a committee
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — part of the head
  15. clip — for paper
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. key — for a lock
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. face — to confront
  24. board — to get on

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