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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: toast · bulb · wax · kid · last · tube · arm · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. toast — bread
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. last — final
  6. tube — a container
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. last — finally
  12. kid — to tease
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. last — to go on
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. bulb — for light
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wax — to grow
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — for sculpting

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