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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: shower · wax · fan · hand · sharp · trunk · pit · clip

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. clip — for paper
  10. sharp — clever
  11. pit — in a race
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. pit — a hole
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. hand — in cards
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. hand — help
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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