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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: rock · craft · stand · wax · wound · ground · leaves · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. ground — a position
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. ground — crushed
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. craft — a skill
  10. rock — a stone
  11. clip — a video
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rock — music
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wound — an injury
  20. craft — boats
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. wound — an injury

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