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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 120 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 · craft · present · lean · net · tube · clip · bat

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wax — to grow
  3. present — a gift
  4. net — after costs
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. net — in sport
  7. clip — for paper
  8. tube — the underground
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. net — for catching
  13. tube — a container
  14. clip — to cut
  15. present — there
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to bend
  19. craft — boats
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. present — the time now
  23. bat — the animal
  24. craft — a skill

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