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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 120 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: spell · trunk · swing · wax · cabinet · net · racket · clip

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wax — to grow
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. spell — letters
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. net — after costs
  10. spell — a short time
  11. clip — a video
  12. spell — magic
  13. net — in sport
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. clip — to cut
  18. swing — to play on
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. net — for catching

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