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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: bat · kick · current · clip · rule · trunk · cue · wax

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. bat — the animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. current — electric
  11. rule — a law
  12. clip — a video
  13. current — happening now
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. current — of water
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. wax — to grow
  22. rule — government
  23. cue — a signal
  24. rule — to rule out

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