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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. wind — moving air
  16. swing — in golf
  17. clip — a video
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wind — moving air
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. clip — for paper
  24. deal — to handle

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