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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. tube — a container
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mug — to rob
  5. mug — a face
  6. spring — the season
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tear — from crying
  10. spring — a coil
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. band — a music group
  13. toast — bread
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. tear — to rip
  17. band — a ring
  18. spring — of water
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mug — a cup
  24. wax — in the ear

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