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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · wake · clip · staff · leaves · cold · calf · tube

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wake — a trail
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. tube — the underground
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. cold — an illness
  10. staff — employees
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cold — not warm
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. tube — a container
  18. staff — employees
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. clip — a video
  23. wax — to grow
  24. leaves — lets stay

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