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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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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: snap · clip · bay · wax · spring · land · rule · deal

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. spring — the season
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. land — a country
  7. deal — to handle
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. rule — a law
  11. land — ground
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. land — to come down
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. rule — government
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. spring — of water
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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