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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: bear · race · wax · mate · tube · tear · hand · clip

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. race — the arms race
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bear — the animal
  6. tube — a container
  7. race — humankind
  8. hand — in cards
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mate — to breed
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mate — a friend
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — a video
  20. hand — help
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. race — a contest
  23. wax — to grow
  24. mate — a partner

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