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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: kick · craft · ground · cabinet · wax · clip · straw · cold

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. ground — the earth
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. craft — boats
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. kick — in football
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. clip — to cut
  18. craft — a skill
  19. cold — an illness
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. ground — a position
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cold — not warm

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