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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 116 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: rule · deal · clip · spring · fall · wax · stock · swing

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. fall — the season
  3. rule — government
  4. swing — to play on
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. swing — music
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. swing — in golf
  10. stock — goods
  11. clip — a video
  12. fall — to drop
  13. deal — to handle
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stock — shares
  21. rule — a law
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fall — to drop
  24. clip — for paper

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