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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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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: rock · wind · spring · clip · swing · prune · wax · pass

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. swing — in golf
  5. rock — music
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pass — a permit
  9. clip — a video
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. wind — moving air
  13. swing — music
  14. rock — a stone
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. clip — to cut
  18. spring — of water
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. spring — the season
  21. wax — to grow
  22. clip — for paper
  23. swing — to play on
  24. spring — a coil

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