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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: squash · clip · chair · land · spring · stick · mug · wax

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. spring — of water
  3. land — to come down
  4. wax — to grow
  5. squash — to crush
  6. land — a country
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. mug — to rob
  9. chair — a leader
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spring — a coil
  15. clip — a video
  16. spring — the season
  17. squash — the sport
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. land — ground
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — a face

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