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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stock — goods
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. can — a tin
  8. spring — of water
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. can — a tin
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. spring — the season
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. clip — a video
  18. stock — shares
  19. can — to be able to
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to click
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. clip — to cut

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