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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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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: nail · toast · bore · wax · clip · band · kid · pit

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. toast — bread
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wax — to grow
  6. kid — child
  7. bore — to tire
  8. clip — to cut
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pit — in a race
  12. band — a ring
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bore — to drill
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. clip — a video
  21. kid — to tease
  22. band — a music group
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. wax — in the ear

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