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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: wax · clip · ball · spell · arm · staff · trunk · hide

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wax — to grow
  4. clip — for paper
  5. staff — employees
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. ball — a dance
  8. clip — to cut
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. clip — a video
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. staff — employees
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. staff — a stick
  19. ball — a great time
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. spell — magic
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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