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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: chair · craft · wind · wax · kick · clip

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. 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. chair — to sit on
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — to cut
  5. chair — a leader
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. kick — in football
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — boats
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. wax — to grow
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. clip — a video
  18. 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