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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: staff · current · trunk · bass · wax · clip · snap · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. current — happening now
  3. bass — low music
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. staff — a stick
  11. cold — not warm
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. current — electric
  15. wax — to grow
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. clip — for paper
  21. current — of water
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bass — the fish

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