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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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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: rule · deal · clip · spring · fall · wax

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. 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 — the season
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. clip — for paper
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. clip — a video
  12. rule — government
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fall — the season
  15. rule — a law
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. spring — of water
  18. 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