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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 120 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: saw · stand · tube · wax · straw · present · kid · bay

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. kid — to tease
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. tube — a container
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. present — a gift
  15. stand — to bear
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. kid — child
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — there
  21. saw — the tool
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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