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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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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: clip · wound · mouse · wax · coach · racket · tear · jam

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wax — to grow
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wound — an injury
  8. clip — to cut
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. clip — a video
  15. wound — an injury
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. tear — to rip
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. 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