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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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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: cap · bore · clip · cell · wax · ruler

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bore — to drill
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cap — a lid
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bore — to tire
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cap — of ice
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. clip — a video
  18. 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