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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: wax · trunk · press · root · fine · land · shower · clip

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. clip — for paper
  3. root — of a plant
  4. wax — to grow
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. root — of a word
  7. press — newspapers
  8. root — the cause
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. land — to come down
  11. press — a publisher
  12. clip — to cut
  13. shower — to wash
  14. press — to push
  15. fine — all right
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. land — a country
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. land — ground
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. shower — rain
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. clip — a video

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