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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.

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: band · wind · clip · wax · root · mine · last · mug

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a cup
  3. wax — to grow
  4. root — the cause
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. band — a ring
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. last — to go on
  12. wind — moving air
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. band — a music group
  16. last — finally
  17. wind — moving air
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. root — of a word
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. root — of a plant
  22. last — final
  23. clip — for paper
  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