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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: wax · kick · hide · mate · bay · clip · bore · tube

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — a container
  4. bore — to tire
  5. mate — to breed
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wax — to grow
  10. mate — a friend
  11. kick — in football
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mate — a partner
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. clip — a video
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. tube — in a tire

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