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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.

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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 · rest · swing · mouse · spring · clip · court · cap

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. 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. wax — for sculpting
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. wax — to grow
  4. court — of a king
  5. swing — music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cap — of ice
  11. rest — what's left
  12. court — for sport
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cap — a lid
  15. rest — a break
  16. clip — a video
  17. court — of law
  18. cap — a hat
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. spring — the season
  21. rest — what's left
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. 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