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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 · kid · wax · wave · pit · tube · ball · mug

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wax — to grow
  3. kid — child
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — a face
  6. tube — a container
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. pit — a hole
  10. tube — the underground
  11. pit — in a race
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. ball — a great time
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. clip — a video
  20. mug — to rob
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. clip — to cut
  24. kid — to tease

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