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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: stand · rule · wax · clip · rest · spring · roll · straw

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  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. stand — to bear
  2. spring — of water
  3. roll — a list
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. spring — the season
  6. rule — government
  7. wax — to grow
  8. clip — a video
  9. spring — a coil
  10. roll — a cake
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rule — a law
  14. clip — for paper
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. rest — what's left
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. rest — a break
  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