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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: wax · kick · prune · swing · cue · rest · roll · clip

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cue — a hint
  4. clip — a video
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. prune — to trim
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. rest — a break
  11. clip — to cut
  12. roll — a list
  13. rest — what's left
  14. prune — to trim
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cue — for pool
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wax — to grow
  20. swing — music
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cue — a signal

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