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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: wax · race · mouse · clip · bore · wound · bear · arm

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. clip — to cut
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bore — to drill
  7. race — a contest
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. race — humankind
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — for paper
  17. race — the arms race
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wound — an injury
  22. clip — a video
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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