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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: tube · wax · temple · mine · mate · pop · clip · bulb

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wax — to grow
  3. mate — a partner
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bulb — for light
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mate — a friend
  15. pop — soda
  16. clip — to cut
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — a container
  19. pop — to visit
  20. clip — a video
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. pop — music
  24. tube — in a tire

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