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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: clip · wax · cold · can · face · kick · ruler · roll

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. clip — to cut
  3. roll — a list
  4. can — a tin
  5. clip — a video
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. wax — to grow
  11. roll — a cake
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. face — to confront
  15. can — a tin
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. can — to be able to
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to point toward
  24. cold — an illness

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