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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 · swing · sharp · snap · wax · clip · band · bear

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. swing — music
  4. tube — a container
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. clip — for paper
  8. band — a music group
  9. clip — a video
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wax — to grow
  12. clip — to cut
  13. swing — in golf
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bear — the animal
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — the underground
  23. snap — to click
  24. band — a ring

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