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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: spring · cabinet · suit · hand · wound · wind · wax · trunk

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. spring — of water
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. hand — help
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. spring — a coil
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wound — an injury
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wax — to grow
  15. hand — in cards
  16. spring — the season
  17. suit — in cards
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wound — an injury
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. suit — to fit
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wax — in the ear

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