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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: wax · mine · tear · bat · can · clip · temple · bay

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. clip — for paper
  3. can — to be able to
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. can — a tin
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. clip — to cut
  20. can — a tin
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. clip — a video

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