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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 · spring · stick · wax · fine · pop · fall · staff

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. spring — of water
  4. pop — soda
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. staff — employees
  9. spring — the season
  10. wax — to grow
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pop — to visit
  18. clip — for paper
  19. staff — a stick
  20. pop — music
  21. staff — employees
  22. fine — all right
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. fall — the season

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